The broadcaster Andrew Marr is to undergo an operation this week to remove a malignant tumour on his kidney.

Marr’s agent, Mary Greenham, said he was “expected to make a full recovery and will be returning to the airwaves soon … He and his family have asked for privacy at this difficult time.”

Marr, 58, the BBC’s former political editor, suffered a stroke five years ago. He spent two months in hospital and underwent extensive physiotherapy to help him walk again.

The kidney operation means he will miss several episodes of his BBC1 Sunday morning political discussion programme, The Andrew Marr Show.

At the end of Sunday’s show he told viewers: “Now I am going to be away for a couple of weeks or so. I’m having a small hospital operation and I will be back as soon as I possibly can, so be kind please to whoever is sitting in this chair next week.”

Marr recounted his recovery from the stroke, investigated the workings of the brain and took part in a trial of an experimental US treatment in his 2017 documentary Andrew Marr: My Brain and Me.

A BBC spokeswoman said: “Andrew is taking a period of time off for medical reasons. We wish him well and look forward to welcoming him back on our screens soon.”