TV presenters Alan Titchmarsh and Tommy Walsh have joined an NHS bowel cancer screening campaign.

The new film will discuss the importance of bowel cancer screening and the two stars will urge people to return their bowel cancer home screening tests.

The film will run across NHS social media channels, with the two TV presenters answering questions on how the screening programme works.

30 per cent of people do not return their tests.

The video is part of the Help Us Help You campaign which aims to get people diagnosed quicker, when survival rates are higher.

A recent survey found that 89 per cent of those eligible would take a screening test if it could help find signs of cancer earlier, but one in five say they wouldn't complete one because they would be too embarrassed to look at their poo.

National director of screening and vaccinations, Steve Russell, said: “It is fantastic to have Alan and Tommy shine a spotlight on our NHS bowel cancer screening programme and to use their star power to get the country to put the test by the loo and to not put it off.

“There is absolutely no need to feel embarrassed about poo and our survey shows most of us would be happy to take a screening test from the comfort of our own home to try to find early cancer, so I hope everyone who receives one of these quick and easy tests, completes it as soon as they can.”

Gardener and TV presenter, Alan Titchmarsh said: “We know the earlier you detect cancer, the far greater your chances of survival. That’s why this campaign is so important – the NHS bowel cancer screening test can detect cancer even before you notice anything wrong.

“It’s quick to complete and if you do it at soon as it arrives, you can send it off the same day, and job done! I really urge everyone to do it – you owe it to your family, and you owe it to yourself.”

Image: Alan Titchmarsh by Tattyblack, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons