Peter Overton opens up about ‘the most challenging thing’ he’s ever faced

PETER Overton has seen it all in his decades in front of the camera as one of the most well-known faces on TV. But a situation he found himself in last year rocked him to his core.

NINE newsreader Peter Overton has opened up about the health scare that rocked his family late last year, admitting that it was “the most challenging thing” he’d ever faced.

The longtime anchor, 52, revealed in a new interview with Stellar magazine that he’d been somewhat blasé about his symptoms in the lead-up to the doctor’s appointment, thinking his lump was just an ingrown hair.

Peter Overton and Jessica Rowe in this week’s issue of Stellar. Picture: Damian Bennett

“One night, I recall saying to my colleague on set: ‘God, I can’t wait for the news to be over, I feel abysmal,’” he told the publication, adding that his wife had then told him to go to the GP.

“I got an appointment the next morning. He looked at it and said, ‘I’m really concerned about this Peter. This could be lymphoma.’”

Going from someone who has reported on harrowing cancer stories, to potentially living out his own, was incredibly sobering for Overton.

“I had never been in that situation myself ... I have sat in front of families with kids dying, and with [late surgeon and cancer sufferer] Chris O’Brien. But suddenly my mind was there,” he said.

“It wandered to places I didn’t want it to wander. I was calm, but it was going. This was the most challenging thing I have faced.”

And it wasn’t just himself he was thinking of — he had to break the news to his family. When Overton returned home to his wife, former Studio 10 presenter Jessica Rowe, he let her know what was going on.

“I only knew that he’d gone to see the GP ... He came out the front and I wound my window down as I was still trying to park the car,” Rowe told Stellar.

“And he said, ‘Now, pussycat ... I have to go see a specialist and have tests.’ I was just stunned.”

Peter Overton and Jessica Rowe with their daughters, Allegra and Giselle. Picture: Damian Bennett

While she put on a brave face, Rowe explained that she felt “sick to my stomach”.

Fortunately, the lump ended up being less sinister than cancer — just a particularly vicious virus.

Meanwhile, Rowe also opened up to the magazine about her recent decision to leave Studio 10, after more than four years on the panel.

“You have to listen to what your instinct and your heart are telling you, and I knew that it was time. I needed and wanted to be present for our daughters. I wanted to be there in the mornings.”

Peter Overton and Jessica Rowe open up about his recent health scare. Picture: Damian Bennett

Stellar Magazine is available within this week’s issue of Sunday Telegraph and the Sunday Herald Sun.

Originally published as Peter Overton opens up about ‘the most challenging thing’ he’s ever faced