TV personality Russell Grant has undergone major surgery to remove a brain tumour.

The astrologist and Strictly Come Dancing star had a five-hour procedure to remove the tumour from his pituitary gland. It was after doctors said it threatened to “blank out” his optic nerve.

Speaking to The Mirror, Russell said he was “on the road to recovery”, though he is unable to blow his nose, sneeze or travel for six months to avoid complications.

The pituitary gland is a small structure, about the size of a pea, attached to the base of the brain behind the nose. It lies in a small hollow in the skull, just below the eye, where it is protected by a part of the skull called the sphenoid bone.

The majority of tumours that arise within the pituitary gland are classified as pituitary adenomas; they are low-grade, slow-growing tumours, remaining in the pituitary gland and do not spread to other parts of the brain.

This tumour type is discovered in approximately 77 out of 100,000 people and can occur at any age but is more common in people in their 30s and 40s.

Related reading:

• What is a pituitary gland tumour?
• I was diagnosed at 13

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