YOU always know when Sadie Nine is in the room. Her infectious laugh and beaming smile ooze out of her, and her heart of gold touches everyone who encounters her.

The singer and radio star has had an impressive career in showbusiness spanning across more than 25 years.

And Sadie, who recently spoke publicly for the first time about her third cancer diagnosis, will be bringing her one-woman show to Colchester’s Mercury Theatre.

Who is Sadie Nine?

Sadie has been a mainstay on the schedule at BBC Essex, the local BBC radio station, since 2006.

She initially co-presented the breakfast show, providing maternity cover for six months, but Sadie, who admits that she “didn’t expect to be there for this long”, was an instant hit with the listeners.

Since 2021, the presenter has been at the helm of the stations afternoon slot, where “the listeners have become friends”.

Every afternoon, Sadie encourages her listeners, who she lovingly calls her “motley crew”, to join her on-air for fun and games.

She explained: “It’s things like ‘the motleys’ that make my job really special. I have great fun with them, and they come back every day for more.”

Sadie’s ongoing cancer journey

Sadie was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and underwent a lumpectomy and radiotherapy. When the cancer returned in 2013, Sadie chose to have a full mastectomy and reconstruction.

Echo: Brave - Sadie Nine has had breast cancer twice, and now has blood cancerBrave - Sadie Nine has had breast cancer twice, and now has blood cancer (Image: Sadie Nine)

“That was my choice and I really respect women who can handle their lives without having a breast reconstruction.

“But personally, I had to wake up thinking that cancer hadn’t changed me.”

Sadie, whose “whole premise is to live for today”, will be celebrating the milestone of ten years free from breast cancer later this year, but sadly that isn’t the end of her cancer journey.

In 2017, a routine blood test uncovered anomalies and, after a bone marrow biopsy, Sadie learned she had myeloma.

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What is myeloma?

“When I had breast cancer, I said straight away ‘cut it out’, but with this you can’t… it’s in the blood.”

Like many cancers, there are different types of myelomas. Sadie has smouldering myeloma, an early form of myeloma which progresses at a slow rate.

In smouldering myeloma abnormal cells can be detected in the bone marrow. However, smouldering myeloma patients are usually asymptomatic and generally do not require treatment.

Sadie is participating in University College Hospital’s COSMOS trial which is investigating why some people with smouldering myeloma develop symptoms and others don’t.

‘Sadie’s Nine Lives’ at the Mercury Theatre

Sadie promises that her upcoming show will be full of humour and anecdotes of funny stories from her life and career.

Singing will be at the heart of the show, showcasing the talent that Sadie, who previously lived in Russia where she was a popular singer and jokingly refers to herself as “the Russian Madonna”, developed early in her career.

The singer said: “I’d still say I’m a singer first and a radio presenter second.”

As well as inserts from Sadie’s famous friends, including Hannah Waddingham, who is hosting this years Eurovision Song Contest, and broadcaster Jonathan Ross, the show will include moving moments as Sadie discusses her struggles with cancer and an abusive relationship.

But Sadie promises that “it’s not negative at all".

“People will come out feeling positive, uplifted, and full of laughter.”

Tickets are available for ‘Sadie’s Nine Lives’ which will be on-stage at the Mercury Theatre, on Balkerne Gate, Colchester, on Friday, May 5.