Good Morning Britain’s resident medical expert and former Basingstoke GP Dr Hilary Jones has urged ITV viewers not to hesitate to get checked for cancer following the death of Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding.

On Monday morning’s instalment of the show, Dr Hilary told viewer not to “hesitate” when it comes to cancer concerns.

Dr Hilary - who worked at Basingstoke hopsital in the 1980s - was speaking to Ben Shepard when he said: “if you’re worried you have a symptom that could be suspicious get it checked out.”

He added: "I believe she wanted to publicise this, and say there is a risk of this happening to other people.

"So, the NHS prioritises cancer treatment. So despite the pandemic, which did affect normal services at the beginning in particular, now cancer is being prioritised.

"We want to see anybody who has a suspicious symptom. The NHS is open for business as usual - we have cancer secure hubs, we have some treatments which make treatment quicker.

"This means there are fewer trips to hospital. So we want to see anybody who has a suspicious symptom. Please, do not hesitate."

Sarah Harding's mother announces her death

Sarah Harding revealed last August that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, which had spread to other parts of her body.

Her mother Marie announced the death on Instagram and described her “beautiful” daughter as “a bright shining star”.

The caption under the black and white image of Harding smiling said: “It’s with deep heartbreak that today I’m sharing the news that my beautiful daughter Sarah has sadly passed away.

“Many of you will know of Sarah’s battle with cancer and that she fought so strongly from her diagnosis until her last day. She slipped away peacefully this morning.

“I’d like to thank everyone for their kind support over the past year.

“It meant the world to Sarah and it gave her great strength and comfort to know she was loved.

“I know she won’t want to be remembered for her fight against this terrible disease – she was a bright shining star and I hope that’s how she can be remembered instead. – Marie x”