THE owner of a North Yorkshire stately home has revealed he has beaten throat cancer.

Reports in a national newspaper said Simon Howard had a lump removed from his throat earlier this year, which was found to have cancerous cells, and he has now completed a precautionary seven week course of radiotherapy.

The former High Sheriff of North Yorkshire, and owner of Castle Howard, said in the article: "A lump was removed from my throat and it was found to have cancerous squamous cells.

“It was a bit of a shock at the time, but it was removed successfully and I have just completed a precautionary seven-week course of radiation therapy.

“As things stand, I have been very lucky and I am in the clear.

"The course means eating has become a bit boring – everything seems to have a metallic taste – but I am told it will wear off and I can’t complain.”

Mr Howard, the third son of the late Lord Howard and the late Lady Cecilia Howard, was educated at Eton and studied fine art before attending the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester.

The 57-year-old, is father to 12-year-old twins, Merlin and Octavia, with his wife Rebekah Sieff.

The couple were rumoured to have split earlier this year when rumours circulated he had developed a close relationship with a 22-year-old fitness instructor, however Mr Howard dismissed this as "lies and rubbish".

Rebekah is Mr Howard's second wife after they married in 2001 following his divorce from Annette in 1999, a woman seven years his senior.

Castle Howard found fame under another name among TV viewers when it was chosen as the setting for the adaptation of Brideshead Revisited.