Bill Turnbull
Wycombe Wanderers fan Bill Turnbull looks on prior to the Sky Bet League Two match between Wycombe Wanderers and Northampton Town at Adams Park on October 3, 2015 in High Wycombe, England.

Former BBC Breakfast host Bill Turnbull had been inundated with messages of support following his announcement that he is battling incurable prostate cancer.

Fans and fellow celebrities reached out to the 62-year-old TV veteran or took to social media to offer him words of support after he told the Radio Times that he was diagnosed with the disease a year after noticing a change in his "pee pattern".

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"Just woke up to the #heartbreaking news that Bill Turnbull has prostate cancer. Stay strong @billtu and anyone else struck down by this horrible disease. We can and will #BeatCancer," one fan said.

Another wrote: "How terribly sad, my thoughts are with Bill Turnbull & his family. Such a lovely chap - stay strong #StandUpToCancer."

Good Morning Britain host Susana Reid tweeted: "Huge love to @billtu this morning. Practical, pragmatic & positive as he deals with prostate cancer. His message to others: get yourself checked."

"So sorry to hear that Bill Turnbull has Prostate Cancer," Tony Blackburn wrote. "I've met him on many occasions and he is the nicest man you could wish to meet."

Turnbull, who is now being treated by the Royal Marsden hospital in London, revealed that he regrets not seeking medical help sooner. Doctors gave him the bad news during filming of The Great Celebrity Bake Off Stand Up To Cancer and in November he was informed the disease had spread to his to his legs, hips, pelvis and ribs.

"I'm cross with myself. Maybe if I'd got it earlier and stopped it at the prostate, I'd be in a much better state," the father of three said.

For Turnbull, informing his family was one of the hardest things he has ever had to do. "Those first few days were probably the worst of my life. It's hard to know what to say, when you want to protect them. That first moment is a shell shock."