A beloved ITV presenter has bravely opened up about their hidden health condition, which left their life on the line. Broadcaster Duncan Wood, who was the anchor of ITV Yorkshire's Calendar news for almost two decades, revealed that he discovered he had stopped breathing up to 80 times a night, which sparked a major investigation into his health. Now, the 63-year-old TV star has launched a campaign to raise awareness of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA).

Wood said that although he always knew he snored at night, he didn't think it was anything to worry about and was unaware of the condition before he was referred for a sleep test in January last year. The meteorologist also said he lacked energy during the day, but only tried to find answers when he started getting up to use the bathroom up to seven times a night.

Soon after the test was conducted, he was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnoea, which put him at greater risk of having a heart attack, a stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes because he stopped breathing repeatedly in the night.

He recently told press: "I stopped breathing more than 80 times an hour when I went to sleep and didn't have a clue my life was on the line. I thought I had a significant prostate problem, but it turns out it was the apnoeas. When I stopped breathing, I obviously had to start again, and my body thought I'd woken up, so I needed to go to the loo."

Now, the presenter wears a ResMed nasal mask, which is connected to a continuous positive airway pressure machine (CPAP) every night before going to sleep. The device is connected to a team at St James' Hospital in Leeds, which can study the collected data for regular medical reviews. The information is also stored on an app, which gives him a daily run-down of how his previous night's sleep went.

Speaking about his new night-time routine, he confessed: "It's not the most attractive thing to wear in the bedroom and at first it's challenging. There are other things out there that can possibly help you, with new methods of treatment being researched all the time. But, at the moment, CPAP is still seen as the gold standard, and it's a no-brainer for me. It really has changed my life."

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Wood has since launched a YouTube channel called The Masked Anchorman, which he intends to use to raise awareness of his condition ahead of World Sleep Day on Friday (March 13).

He is being supported by Hull-based charity, Hope2Sleep, which said it is thought more than eight million people in the UK have obstructive sleep apnoea, but at least 85% do not know and are not receiving treatment.

The presenter concluded: "If we can just get the message out there for people at risk to get checked out, then their lives would be changed for the better, and the NHS could save millions of pounds because not as many people would need treatment for the very serious health issues linked to OSA."

Consultant respiratory physician at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Dipansu Ghosh, added: "Sleep apnoea often disrupts sleep without people realising it.

"People who snore, wake feeling unrefreshed, or struggle with daytime sleepiness may benefit significantly from treatment if sleep apnoea is the cause. It's important to speak with a GP and arrange testing. With the right diagnosis and treatment, the impact can be transformative.