BBC podcast presenter Deborah James has revealed she has had a stent fitted into her bile duct to help her liver function again after announcing her bowel cancer has 'moved very quickly in the wrong direction'.

The You, Me and the Big C star, 39, who has been living with stage four bowel cancer since she was diagnosed in December 2016, told her followers on Instagram on Friday that ongoing multiple tests at London's Royal Marsden Hospital had revealed the worrying results.

Updating fans yesterday, the mother-of-two said that an aggressive new tumour near her liver had wrapped itself around her bile duct, adding 'the signs have been there for a while' that the cancer that had 'gone to sleep' is back again.

In a post to her 152,000 Instagram followers last night, the bowel cancer campaiger, also known as Bowel Babe, shared a snap from her hospital bed, posting: 'Update! I never liked rollercoasters, but I seem to be riding the hideous cancer one whether I like it or not! To cut a long story short, my drugs have stopped working and my liver is failing. But I’ve been given hope.'

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She continued: 'Today I had a stent fitted to my bile duct, in order to hope that my liver can function again and that I can then have more chemo.

'I was transferred via ambulance to St Helier Hopsital to have the procedure by a team of awesome doctors, who managed to get it in how they wanted, and now we just need my liver to play ball!

'I can’t actually tell you anything about what happened, because I was given such a wacking dose of sedation, I’m still coming round and recovering and being monitored in hospital.'

She added that she hoped to keep fans updated, saying: 'So whilst I feel like I’m back to square one and yes its a pretty scary, I’m taking it one step at a time, greatful to have hope and options. As my oncologist said, don’t write me off yet!'

In a second selfie shared later to her Instagram, Deborah said: 'Highlight of my stay so far. Discovering the pink version of hospital admission gowns!'

Yesterday, writing in her column in The Sun, she said the stent 'should' stop her liver from failing and might work for between three to six months.

She wrote: 'If my liver plays ball, I can have chemo again. If that works, it might shrink the tumour enough to stop it obstructing my bile duct.'

She added: 'The truth is it never really went away. It went to sleep for a bit, but now it’s back again and this time, my drugs aren’t working.'

Detailing the options she now has, she says her oncologist 'wants me back on chemo'.

She added that she is already an 'outlier' having defied the odds that see people with the disease usually live for no more than around two-and-a-half years after diagnosis, saying: 'There aren’t many other options, and I know, I’ve done hours of research.'

On Friday, she shared a photo of herself with husband Sebastien at the Queen's tennis tournament in West London, saying: 'I think you all know, by my general lack of being on here (dancing!), that Things have moved (in the wrong direction) very quickly cancer wise.'

Deborah praised her 'superman' husband, Sebastien Bowen, for 'keeping the family together' during a 'crazy a** scary week'. She had two children with the banker, Hugo, 13, and Eloise, 11.

The upbeat deputy head-turned-campaigner and presenter added: 'I do have a glimmer of hope and options and am greatful to my team who are currently pulling a "next step" plan together that doesn’t including writing me off just yet!'

Revealing she'd endured many tests and scans in recent days, Deborah said she'd 'earnt a hell of a lot of brownie points for the amount of time I’ve spent on scanners and having tests this week'.

She added that: 'Whilst it goes without saying that I’ve felt at rock bottom, I’m not giving up hope just yet.'

The mother-of-two finished the post by saying she was 'taking the weekend to snuggle up with my family so you won’t see me on here, and I urge you to do the same.'

Last year, Deborah began taking new experimental drugs as part of a trial after her oncology team gave her the green light to do so.

Famous faces were quick to respond to Deborah's post, with Jodie Kidd, Lisa Snowdon and Anthea Turner sending their best wishes.

Jodie Kidd wrote: 'So, so, so much love, snuggle up, cuddle time and we’re all sending you so much love from Sussex.'

Her co-host on You, Me and the Big C, Lauren Mahon, wrote: 'Love you legs eleven! Rest. Recoup. Rosè. Then show this little c*** who is boss (you OBVS) xxxxxxx'

In April, James shared that her cancer, which has been kept at bay by pioneering treatment, was back again and she was forced to endure a 12th operation.

London-based Deborah, who recently launched ITV's Lorraine's 'No Butts' campaign, designed to get people talking about the illness's main symptoms, revealed how she recently asked her oncologist whether this was the 'beginning of the end' following her most recent results.

In December 2016, the West London mother-of-two, a deputy head, was diagnosed 'late' with incurable bowel cancer.

She has frequently said that as a vegetarian runner, she was the last person doctors expected to get the disease.

After sharing her experiences on living with the disease on social media, Deborah became known as the 'Bowel Babe' and began writing a column for the Sun.

Last year, after several years of surgery, chemo and radiotherapy, Deborah underwent CyberKnife and ablation.

The surgery was a success and her cancer became inactive. But while Deborah continued undergoing daily targeted drug therapy to keep the cancer at bay, she told how just as lockdown restrictions in the UK started easing, her cancer 'wanted in on the party' and started waking up.

Deborah, who says that as a stage 4 cancer patient all she wants is 'hope and options,' added that the node is inoperable and that her body is unable to cope with any more radiotherapy in that area.

However, with an oncologist confirming Deborah's cancer is spreading to 'limited sites' in a 'specific way,' local therapies - including a mix of CyberKnife and ablation - have so far had positive outcomes.

Bowel, or colorectal, cancer affects the large bowel, which is made up of the colon and rectum.

Such tumours usually develop from pre-cancerous growths, called polyps.

Symptoms include:

Most cases have no clear cause, however, people are more at risk if they:

Treatment usually involves surgery, and chemo- and radiotherapy.

More than nine out of 10 people with stage one bowel cancer survive five years or more after their diagnosis.

This drops significantly if it is diagnosed in later stages.

According to Bowel Cancer UK figures, more than 41,200 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK.

It affects around 40 per 100,000 adults per year in the US, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Deborah has also undergone a new type of ablation known as NanoKnife - an ablation procedure that uses low energy electrical pulses to create defects in cell membranes, resulting in loss of homeostasis and subsequent cell death.

'I still get scared, I still overthink every possible scenario,' she explained to Lorraine. 'I still hate general anaesthetics and I worry every single time that I won’t wake up.'

'I worry I might wake up too soon, I worry it will all go wrong. I worry I will freak out in the middle of the night, and I get nervous that I’ll have to sleep alone. 'What if I die mid-operation?'

Deborah went on to say how before heading into the hospital, she makes sure everything is 'in order at home' - including reminding son Hugo of her password 'just in case.'

She also added how she hugs him, Eloise and husband Seb 'a little bit tighter.'

She continued: 'I know that I have to take risks if I want to live, it’s a strategy that has got me this far and I’m not giving up now.'

It comes just a week after Deborah poignantly revealed on Lorraine that 'all she wants is a future', as she launched a new campaign to mark Bowel Cancer Awareness month.

Speaking candidly about her future she said she's had to accept she probably won't see her children, aged 11 and 13, turn 18.

'I was diagnosed at the age of 35, with stage four bowel cancer,' she explained. 'It was the last thing I thought would ever happen. It was caught very late and unfortunately, the chances of survival plummets.

'It's really hard when I look at my kids. I have a 13-year-old and an 11-year-old and I wonder if I'll ever see them getting to 18 and I probably won't

'All I want is to have a future and dream about a future. I want to make it to my 40th birthday later in the year, I want to have a huge party.

She added: 'I want to be a 40-year-old, not Deborah with cancer, I want to be Deborah.'