Slade legend Noddy Holder’s wife Suzan has spoken out after revealing that the music legend is living with throat cancer, saying: “I’ve always been impressed by my husband’s focus and determination but now I am completely in awe.”

The glam rock icon has been living with the illness for five years, after he was initially given just six months to live when he was first diagnosed.

The 77-year-old underwent a new trial of chemotherapy which has helped to keep him alive.

Admitting that the diagnosis came as a “bombshell” Suzan explained: “We coped with it the only way we could, by hunkering down, sticking together and doing everything we could to survive it.

“As anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis will know, the experts never like to use the word ‘cure’, but here we are five years later and he’s feeling good and looking great,” she wrote in a local newspaper Great British Life.

Noddy was treated in The Christie hospital, which is the lead cancer centre for the Greater Manchester and Cheshire Cancer Network.

Suzan paid tribute to the staff there and also credited Noddy’s strength with helping him through the process, explaining: “You need so much mental strength to get through something like this.

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“I’ve always been impressed by my husband’s focus and determination but now I am completely in awe.”

Despite his diagnosis, Noddy has been seen at events such as the Pride of Manchester Awards last year, and he also returned to the stage last summer when he played a gig in Dorset with a Cheshire based musician, Tom Seals.

Throughout the performance, Noddy spoke about his experiences with Slade, the glam rock band he found fame with in the 1970s.

The group were formed in Wolverhampton in 1966 with Dave Hill, Don Powell and Jim Lea alongside Noddy.

They went on to become one of the biggest British rock bands of the Seventies thanks to songs such as Cum On Feel the Noize and Coz I Love You.

In total, they had 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six UK No1 singles during their career.

Their final song to hit the top spot was Merry Xmas Everyone, which is their most famous tune, and reportedly brings in £500,000 in royalties every year.