Gary Burgess (13 November 1975 – 1 January 2022) was a British broadcaster and journalist, latterly in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

where his freelance work on regional television, local radio and a newspaper led him to become known as a community champion who shared openly about his experiences of cancer and

chronic fatigue syndrome Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling Chronic condition, chronic illness. People with ME/CFS experience profound fatigue that does not go away with rest, as well as sleep issues and problems with memory ...

. He was named Community Champion of the Year in the ''

Jersey Evening Post The ''Jersey Evening Post'' (''JEP'') is a local newspaper published six days a week in the Bailiwick of Jersey. It was printed in broadsheet format for 87 years, though it is now of compact ( tabloid) size. Its strapline is: "At the heart of ...

'' 2021 Pride of Jersey awards.

Early life and education

Gary Burgess was born in

Bury, Greater Manchester Bury (, ) is a market town on the River Irwell in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. which had a population of 81,101 in 2021 while the wider borough had a population of 193,846. The town was originally part of the ...

on 13 November 1975. At age six, he moved with his family to South Africa due to his father's job. He returned to England at age ten to live in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, where his grandparents lived. He attended Montgomery High School where he joined their

high school radio High school radio are radio stations located at high schools and usually operated by its students with faculty supervision. The oldest extant high school AM radio station is AM 1450 KBPS in Portland, Oregon. Portland radio station KBPS, first li ...

station 'MHR'. He presented a one-hour golden oldies show at 7 a.m., a one-hour pop programme during the lunch hour and a ten-minute news bulletin. This gave him the desire to have a career in the media.

Career

After leaving school at age 17, he started his broadcasting career in 1992, making cups of tea from 1 a.m. until 7 a.m. during the overnight show at Blackpool's new station Radio Wave 96.5. After his shift there, he worked during the day at a call centre. Still age 17, he went on to host his own show. A few years later, he got a job as a journalist in the station's newsroom, and went on to host the afternoon show, the breakfast show, and then became programme controller. He set the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

for the longest breakfast show, broadcasting for 76 hours and raising tens of thousands of pounds for a new local cancer facility. He also worked at

Wire FM Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool & The North West (Warrington) (formerly Wire FM) is an Independent Local Radio station serving the Warrington, Widnes and Runcorn areas of Cheshire. Following its sale to Bauer Radio, the station was closed and mer ...

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

, at Q96 in

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

, at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Juice FM Capital Liverpool is an Independent Local Radio station serving Liverpool, England. It is owned and operated by Global

and as group programme controller for UTV's radio stations in the north of England. His first stint in the Channel Islands was in

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

, joining the island's only commercial radio station

Island FM Island FM is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting across the Bailiwick of Guernsey on 104.7 FM and 93.7 FM in Alderney. Launched in 1992, Island FM remains the sole commercial station in the island and continues to be extremely suc ...

in 2003 as breakfast presenter and programme director, having instantly "fallen in love" with the island. He returned to Guernsey in January 2008, initially with no job to go to but, within a few weeks, had joined

BBC Radio Guernsey BBC Radio Guernsey is the BBC's local radio station serving the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Bulwer Avenue in St Sampson. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly a ...

to cover their afternoon show and, within a month, had been appointed as host of their breakfast show. Burgess made the move to

ITV Channel Television ITV Channel Television, previously Channel Television, is a British television station which has served as the ITV contractor for the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey and broadcasts regional programmes for insertion into the ...

's Guernsey office in 2011, and to their

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

office in March 2012 where he began producing the nightly 6pm news programme. He was a finalist in the

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

Southern Awards in 2021. He returned to commercial radio in 2018, joining the presenting line-up at

Channel 103 Channel 103 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the island of Jersey on 103.7 FM and DAB+ digital radio. The station launched on 25 October 1992. Channel 103 is part of Tindle Radio, which also owns Island FM in Guernsey an ...

. He also wrote regular columns for the ''

''. On 23 September 2021, he was named 'Community Champion of the Year' in the Pride of Jersey Awards in recognition of his journalistic work throughout the

COVID-19 pandemic in Jersey The COVID-19 pandemic in the Bailiwick of Jersey was part of a global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first case in Jersey ...

Personal life

Gary married his long-term partner Alan Stirling in 2018, becoming the first same-sex couple in Jersey to convert a

civil partnership A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...

to a marriage after the island legalised same-sex marriage. They had held an unofficial wedding ceremony in March, before the law came into effect.

Illness and death

In 1999 when he was aged 23, Burgess was diagnosed with

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an c ...

, which spread to his chest and lungs, receiving three months of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

. In 2014, the cancer had returned to his lungs and, in 2015, he had parts of his right lung removed. He underwent further surgery in August 2016 to remove cancerous tissue between his heart and windpipe. He went on to become a figure head for campaigns by cancer charities including

Macmillan Cancer Support Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, an ...

and

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

. In 2016, Burgess began to suffer from exhaustion,

brain fog Clouding of consciousness, also called brain fog or mental fog, occurs when a person is conscious but slightly less wakeful or aware than normal. They are less aware of time and their surroundings, and find it difficult to pay attention. Peopl ...

, headaches and nausea. In January 2017, he was signed off work for 18 months and was eventually diagnosed as having

myalgic encephalomyelitis Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling chronic illness. People with ME/CFS experience profound fatigue that does not go away with rest, as well as sleep issues and problems with memory or concentration. T ...

(ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. He set up a blog to share his experiences of living with the condition, and confessed to having suicidal thoughts. In October 2019, a

CT scan A computed tomography scan (CT scan), formerly called computed axial tomography scan (CAT scan), is a medical imaging technique used to obtain detailed internal images of the body. The personnel that perform CT scans are called radiographers or ...

showed five inoperable tumours between his lungs and around his

trachea The trachea (: tracheae or tracheas), also known as the windpipe, is a cartilaginous tube that connects the larynx to the bronchi of the lungs, allowing the passage of air, and so is present in almost all animals' lungs. The trachea extends from ...

and

oesophagus The esophagus (American English), oesophagus (British English), or œsophagus ( archaic spelling) ( see spelling difference) all ; : ((o)e)(œ)sophagi or ((o)e)(œ)sophaguses), colloquially known also as the food pipe, food tube, or gullet, ...

, requiring

salvage therapy Salvage therapy, also known as rescue therapy, is a form of therapy given after an ailment does not respond to standard therapy. The most common diseases that require salvage therapy are HIV and various cancers. The term is not clearly defined; i ...

. On 3 November 2020, in the midst of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Burgess was told in a video call with his

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's Etymology, etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγ ...

consultant in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

that his cancer was

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devices for a computer * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together ** Battery terminal, electrical contact used to ...

with no treatment available, and that he would have six to twelve months to live. He retired from broadcasting in August 2021 to focus on his health and wellbeing. Shortly after his final ITV report and radio show, he was awarded a Silver Seal by Jersey's Bailiff,

Timothy Le Cocq Sir Timothy John Le Cocq (born 9 December 1956) is a British lawyer and politician who has served as the Bailiff of Jersey since 2019. Prior to his tenure as Bailiff, he was deputy bailiff, attorney general, and solicitor general. Early life ...

, in recognition of his contribution to island life. Burgess had been open about his experience of cancer through a blog, newspaper articles and television interviews and sought to address a

taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

about death. He died from cancer on 1 January 2022 at Jersey Hospice Care, at the age of 46.

Legacy

A Pride of Jersey award was created in his memory, to be awarded to "an inspirational person who has selflessly stepped up to support islanders and bring people together". In 2022, the inaugural award went to Ben Mason who raised money after his 14-year-old sister took her own life. In 2023, it was awarded posthumously to Dean Lowe, an

inclusion Inclusion or Include may refer to: Sociology * Social inclusion, action taken to support people of different backgrounds sharing life together. ** Inclusion (disability rights), promotion of people with disabilities sharing various aspects of lif ...

campaigner, fundraiser and disability champion. In 2023, the posthumous winner was Simon Boas, a humanitarian whose inspirational writings after his own terminal diagnosis were turned into a book.

References

External links

* *
Burgess' blog where he wrote about his terminal cancerZonked.club, set up by Burgess to share his experiences of living with chronic fatigue syndrome
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgess, Gary 1975 births 2022 deaths 20th-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century British journalists 21st-century English LGBTQ people British expatriates in South Africa English television journalists Deaths from cancer in the United Kingdom Gay journalists ITV regional newsreaders and journalists Jersey journalists Journalists from Manchester English LGBTQ broadcasters English LGBTQ journalists English gay writers People with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome English television producers World record holders People from Bury, Greater Manchester People from Blackpool