Andy Murray breaks down in tears over Chris Hoy’s cancer diagnosis

Andy Murray struggled to hold back his emotions as he took to BBC Breakfast to discuss Sir Chris Hoy’s ‘cruel’ terminal cancer diagnosis. 

The tennis players, who is a long-term friend of Sir Chris, 49, features alongside him in a new BBC documentary, Cancer, Courage and Me – which sees the cyclist open up on his diagnosis, while organising a charity fundraising event. 

Ahead of his appearance in the documentary, Andy, 38, sat down with BBC host Sally Nugent to reveal how he reacted to Chris revealing he was battling incurable prostate cancer back in February 2024. 

The cycling legend and Olympic champion was given the crushing news he was battling cancer in September 2023 after visiting the doctor about discomfort in his shoulder and ribs. 

Wimbledon legend Andy was seen struggling to hold back his tears as he spoke on the moment Chris sent him a message talking about his ‘stage four diagnosis’. 

‘After I retired at the Olympics last year, the following day I went to the GB house and he interviewed me,’ Andy told Sally, 54, in a pre-recorded interview. 

‘I messaged him afterwards. I didn’t want to ask because there was lots of people around, like, “How are you doing? You seem really good”.

‘He was like, “Well no, it’s been a really tough year, but I’m doing this charity bike ride about changing perceptions around stage four cancer”.

‘I said to my wife, I was like, “I think he has stage four cancer based on the message”. But I didn’t want to ask. It was literally, maybe the next day, two days later, that he announced it publicly for the first time.’

Andy then took a breath as he wiped away his tears, before adding: ‘I was really upset by it. It’s obviously cruel because he’s a young guy, he has a young family. 

‘He’s obviously dedicated pretty much his whole life to being healthy, fit and active.

‘For the next few days, every moment where I had a break, I was thinking about him and his situation a lot.

‘He’s an all-round great person. Any time I’ve spent time with him, he’s always been incredibly humble. He’s been incredibly open and honest in his interviews.’

Dame Laura Kenny, who also appeared in the pre-recorded segment, became emotional as she added: ‘You’re just shocked aren’t you, because Chris is a superhero in my mind… My heart broke.’

Andy and Laura will both feature in Sir Chris’ upcoming documentary, which airs on Thursday at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer. 

Following the celebrated cyclist through the biggest challenge of his life, the special will see Sir Chris open up about his journey with terminal cancer, and his six-time Olympic gold medal career. 

He and his family will share their experiences of his cancer diagnosis in 2024, showing how he balances life as a husband, father and friend alongside his work, and cancer treatment. 

An official show synopsis reads: ‘Drawing on his Olympic career, Chris reconsiders his purpose and how he will choose to live with cancer – turning his focus towards raising awareness and inspiring others. 

‘The story follows Chris from the early stages of planning a brand-new cycling event through to being joined by friends, including Sir Andy Murray, at the end result in Glasgow: the Tour de Four, a bike ride with the ambition to raise a million pounds for charity and show fellow sufferers that it’s possible to stay active throughout treatment.

‘Heartfelt interviews with former teammates Sir Jason and Dame Laura Kenny, Victoria Pendleton, Rob Hayles and Chris’ long-time psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters give insight into the strength of Hoy’s mindset. 

‘Over the course of his decorated Olympic career, he didn’t just train his body – he built up his mental fitness, a skill that’s now helping to shape his decisions and approach to life since his diagnosis.

‘This documentary, a BBC Breakfast and BBC Sport collaboration, is a celebration of Chris’ outstanding career and his inspirational message of resilience and optimism in the face of a heart-breaking diagnosis.’

It comes after Sir Chris’s wife has revealed the heartbreaking way the couple’s two children reacted when they learned of their father’s cancer diagnosis.

Hoy however didn’t make public his health issues until a year later, around the same time that he discovered the disease had spread to his bones and become terminal. 

Now, Chris and his partner Lady Sarra Hoy have opened up about what has been a difficult few years, revealing their two children blamed themselves for their father’s illness.

The Hoys share two children together, 11-year-old Callum and eight-year-old Chloe Rose, and speaking to the BBCon Monday, Lady Sarra said: ‘They were scared, they had heard about cancer. 

‘Questions come very quickly, will he die? Will I catch it? Did I cause it? Is it because I was naughty? I wanted to make cancer and chemotherapy part of our lives.’

Hoy has done just that since his diagnosis and has continued to ‘do what he loves’ – riding bikes. 

However the Scotsman suffered a broken leg earlier this year in the ‘worst crash’ he’s ever experienced, despite spending almost 30 years as a professional cyclist in the velodrome. 

Speaking on Sky Sports last week, he explained: ‘I’ve smashed up my leg on the mountain bike. That’s the worst thing that’s happened recently. You just don’t bounce like you do when you’re younger.

‘It was a big one but I’m doing better now. I’m still on crutches, hobbling about, but by the time I’m there for the darts final on January 3, hopefully I’ll be a bit more mobile.

‘Worse things happen. I’ve been riding bikes for 43 years and it’s the worst crash I’ve ever had. I’m pretty lucky that’s the worst one I’ve had in all those years of riding. 

‘You can trip walking up steps to your front door and hurt yourself. The point is I’m not a massive risk taker, but I want to live my life and I want to make the most of it.

‘None of us are here forever so you want to make the most of the time you have and do the things you enjoy.

‘I’ve just had an unfortunate spill and it’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m doing alright now, I wasn’t doing so well in the immediate aftermath of it, but looking forward to Christmas.’

Hoy also offered a promising update on his battle against cancer, revealing that his condition is now ‘stable’ thanks to successful treatment. 

Breakfast airs weekdays from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer.