James Whale has “gone downhill quickly” as he continues to battle terminal cancer, which has now spread to his kidney, spine, brain and lungs. The Express columnist admitted in the latest episode of his radio show Tales of the Whales that he is feeling sick more and more, and was too tired to do his regular work earlier this week.

Accompanied by his wife Nadine Lamont-Brown, the TalkTV star let her take the reins as he admitted: “My driving is not very good today.” Nadine echoed: “No, so. You weren’t feeling very well, you were quite sleepy last night which is why you didn’t do your show.” James apologised to his fans, telling them: “I went to sleep at about three o’clock in the afternoon, and you woke me up and said, ‘Darling, I think you should think about going to bed’, it was nine-“

Cutting him off, Nadine corrected him: “No, I didn’t say it was time- I said it was time for you to get ready to do the show.” James admitted he is “so confused”, as Nadine chimed in: “Because you don’t go to bed, do you? You just stay in the same place. You just sit in your chair day and night.”

The presenter explained he is feeling confused a lot of the time, as Nadine confessed: “We didn’t realise you were going to get so poorly so quickly.” James said: “It does seem to have gone downhill fairly quickly.”

Musing on the decline, Nadine said: “It’s been six months. I think it’s been quite slow, a slow and steady, gradual decline.

“One of the things that’s happening now, a lot, is you are saying things that are completely fictitious. Not like your delirious ramblings, just saying things that are completely untrue, but you believe them. In a way that sounds quite convincing, so when I hear these conversations you’re having with people who come to visit I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s just rubbish’. But it’s best to go along with it.”

James admitted: “I really didn’t think it would go the way it’s going, but I’m beginning to feel really bad. But I don’t want everybody rushing, everything’s cool.”

Nadine explained James hasn’t been eating a lot and is “feeling sick a lot of the time”, guessing: “Your kidney isn’t working so you’ve got probably some toxins in your blood that aren’t being flushed out properly.”

She did explain that his legs are faring better, and leakages from his bandages are “under control” – but unfortunately water is now “squirting out of his thighs” which they then cover with plasters.

“One of the doggies will go and walk on me and make a hole,” James explained, as his legs have both filled with liquid and swelled as his kidney fails.