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News24
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News24
He fought to the end: Darren Scott's ex-wife sheds light on radio DJ's last years
'Look, it's Daddy!' These are the words shouted by Darren Scott's two sons as they pass a giant billboard promoting their father's drive radio show on Hot 102.7 in Johannesburg. The picture of their dad is more tribute than advert now, but for Mark (13) and Matthew (11) it's still touching to see his face looming large over a busy Joburg street and know he's still part of the city. The boys live in the US now with their mother, Sarah-Kate Accetta, and they've flown over with her for their father's memorial service. Even though their dad fought cancer for four decades, his recent death still came as a shock, Sarah-Kate, Darren's ex-wife, tells YOU. 'We saw him just two months ago when he came out to visit us in Dallas,' she says. 'No one thought it would be the last time.' Sarah-Kate (41) and the boys are staying in Darren's house in Eagle Canyon, Roodepoort, which is a great comfort, she says. 'I really didn't want to stay in a cold hotel room. 'It's been a healing process for me and the boys. Last night we found a bunch of old photos in a drawer and we were just laughing and crying as we went through them.' The former Miss SA and Miss World runner-up and Darren were together for 12 years and married for six, weathering plenty of storms, including Darren's notorious sacking from SuperSport in 2011 and their eldest son's battle with kidney cancer. Mark was just a year old when he was diagnosed but he was declared cancer-free a year later after intensive chemo (YOU, 28 November 2013). Darren and Sarah-Kate divorced in 2015 but remained friends and committed co-parents. In the ensuing years she married Marc Accetta (63), an American motivational speaker she met when he was working in SA, and three years ago they moved to the US. 'It was actually Darren who wanted me to take the boys to America after he had a hijacking scare here,' she says. 'He was worried for their safety.' Despite his health issues and work schedule, Darren visited as often as he could. His last visit was 'the most special', Sarah-Kate says. 'We spent a lot of time talking and crying together. I could see he was tiring very quickly. He kept saying he just wanted to see his boys turn 21 Sarah-Kate Accetta But when he returned to SA, doctors discovered the immunotherapy he'd been on since 2022 was no longer doing its job. The treatment works by boosting the body's immunity to fight the cancer cells but, while it had bought him some time, things were looking dire. 'His oncologist called and told me Darren had just days to live,' Sarah-Kate says. Yet he hung on for weeks, drifting in and out of a coma in his hospital bed. In the end his body gave out. 'He was too weak but he fought until the end.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by SARAH-KATE ACCETTA (@ Darren, who worked at many of SA's biggest radio stations, was best known for his biting humour and unfiltered opinions. But his tongue cold land him in trouble too. The most controversial incident was when he called a SuperSport colleague the k-word during an outing at a bar while he was working as a presenter for the rugby show Boots & All. The backlash was fierce and Darren was fired from the TV channel and booted off Jacaranda Radio. He issued a public apology and the incident took a heavy toll on him, Sarah-Kate says. 'I was on suicide watch with him at the time. He absolutely hated himself – he had such remorse.' Darren fell into a depression and started hitting the booze and their marriage suffered badly, Sarah-Kate says. Their divorce was a result of 'stacked decisions', she says, but their bond persevered nonetheless. 'I used to joke that me and Darren were way better as friends than we were as husband and wife. He was my best friend,' she says. On his career she says, 'Radio was always the love of his life, but his kids gave him life. Being a dad shifted something in him.' Last year Darren was inducted into the Radio Awards Hall of Fame in SA after marking four decades behind the microphone. Beyond his professional achievements, he was also committed to charitable endeavours and spearheaded initiatives such as Wings of Change and Hot Cares, aiming to uplift and support those in need. In 2022 he moved to the US to be nearer his boys and his dad, Harry Scott (90), who has dementia. 'He was very close to his dad and after Harry remarried and moved to the US, Darren wanted to spend time with him as his dementia was progressing.' In 2024 Darren returned to SA after being offered the afternoon drive slot at Hot FM. In his last TV interview before his death, Darren shed light on his situation. 'I live alone here now and I work radio to cover my bills,' he said. 'It's not my first rodeo.' Darren was diagnosed with an aggressive form of melanoma back in 1986, a result, he said, of all the years he spent in the sun. In the ensuing years it spread and he had multiple surgeries, including the removal of parts of his lung, chin and lymph nodes. Darren's biggest worry was his medical costs, Sarah-Kate says, and he didn't have medical aid. Immunotherapy costs around R80 000 a session and is needed every three weeks, and it was 'a merciless merry-go-round'. Earlier this year she went against Darren's wishes and started a BackaBuddy campaign to help raise funds for him. 'He absolutely didn't want me to do it – he was too proud. But I did it anyway.' The irony was he was the first to help others but wouldn't take help himself Sarah-Kate Accetta On Facebook, she didn't hold back on the urgency, making it clear it was no vanity project but a bid to stop the cancer before time ran out. 'For every shared post, every kind comment, and every donation – you are the ubuntu that the USA will never know!' she wrote. On 14 May a benefit concert was held in Joburg to help raise funds for Darren and on the bill were artists such as Just Jinger, Jesse Clegg, Kurt Darren and Louise Carver. Sarah-Kate says she believes there's 'a great radio show happening right now up in heaven' featuring Darren, Mark Pilgrim and Jeremy Mansfield, all veteran radio DJs and pals who succumbed to cancer. Darren's spirit lives on in their boys, she adds. 'Matthew looks like Darren and has a lot of his mannerisms, but Mark definitely has his confidence and gift of the gab.' She recently entered the workplace again, signing to a modelling agency in the US after being a stay-at-home mom. 'The boys are getting older now and they don't need me as much.' SA will always be home, she adds, and they plan to return as often as possible. 'There are so many memories here for us.'
News24
27-05-2025
- Health
- News24
Veteran broadcaster Darren Scott dies after decades-long cancer battle
Radio broadcaster Darren Scott has died. Scott, 60, died after his cancer aggressively returned in early 2023. More details surrounding his memorial and funeral arrangements will be communicated once available. Veteran radio broadcaster Darren Scott has died after a long battle against cancer. Scott died in the early hours of Tuesday, 27 May, his employer, Hot 102.7 FM, said in a statement. He was 60. 'It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of a Hot 102.7 radio legend. Earlier today, Darren Scott lost his battle to cancer,' the Johannesburg-based radio station said. Per a previous News24 report, Scott was diagnosed with an aggressive form of skin cancer, melanoma, in 1986 and has been battling the life-threatening disease for almost four decades. 'The last few months have been very difficult for Darren with numerous hospital stays,' the station said. 'Darren will be remembered for radio, wit, creativity and charitable work. He will be missed by all of us at Hot 102.7 and listeners across the country. Our condolences go out to Darren's boys, Mark and Matthew, and the rest of the family.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by HOT 1027FM (@hot1027fm) Scott's ex-wife Sarah-Kate Accetta, who earlier in the year helmed efforts to raise funds for his treatment, extended her gratitude to those who contributed and supported him. 'There are no words to truly express the depth of my gratitude to every single person who donated, prayed and stood beside him during the fight of his life,' she said. 'Your generosity through the Back-a-Buddy campaign didn't just fund treatment; it gave Darren hope. It gave him dignity, and it gave him the profound gift of feeling so loved.' 'I watched him, day after day, scroll through your messages in disbelief, humbled, overwhelmed, moved to tears. He couldn't believe that so many people cared. Thank you for giving him that in his final months.' Per the campaign page, a whopping R515 350 was raised to aid the broadcaster. Speaking candidly about the return of his cancer in March, Scott said the aggressive nodular melanoma on his back appeared before he left the country to live in the United States in 2022. It was removed, as the other forms of his cancer were, but it reappeared in various parts of his upper abdomen and tracheal area in early 2023. Details surrounding his memorial and funeral services will be communicated once available.
