A radio host is eating her words after making a major on-air blunder. During an entertainment news update on Heart FM live on Thursday, February 12, host Ashley Roberts confused the late James Van Der Beek with Dick Van Dyke."We have some sad news, Dawson's Creek's Dick Van Dyke has passed away," the former Pussycat Dolls singer announced, prompting her co-hosts to quickly swoop in to correct her mistake.



Source: megaThe former Pussycat Dolls singer immediately apologized for the mistake.

"Not Dick Van Dyke - come on. If you're going to do a sensitive moment, if you're going to do an obituary, you can't just say Dick Van Dyke," Jamie Theakston noted. Amanda Holden added of the Mary Poppins star, "he's alive," to which Roberts replied, "Yes! He's 100 years old! Oh my gosh, we spoke about this, I'm so sorry." While legendary actor and comedian Van Dyke celebrated his 100th birthday in December 2025, Van Der Beek tragically lost his battle with cancer at age 48 on Wednesday, February 11.

James Van Der Beek Said He Was Feeling 'Much Better' Before His Death

Source: megaJames Van Der Beek was incredibly thin in the months before his death.

The Varsity Blues actor announced his colorectal cancer diagnosis in late 2024, and in recent months, he appeared alarmingly gaunt, sparking concern among fans. Van Der Beek insisted he'd been feeling good in his final interview just two months before his shocking death. "I feel much, much better than I did a couple months ago," he told Today's Craig Melvin on December 19, 2025. "It's been a longer journey than I ever thought it would be. It's required more of me - more patience, more discipline, more strength than I knew I had. I knew I was strong. I didn't know I was this strong. But I feel good."

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'I Had Stage 3 Cancer and Had No Idea'

Source: megaThe actor said he was shocked to discover he had cancer.

He also said he was still getting cancer treatment at the time and "trying a bunch of stuff," though he declined to share what therapies he'd undergone.

Elsewhere in the interview, the former heartthrob shared his utter shock at discovering he had cancer."I was so healthy, was in amazing cardiovascular shape. I was doing the cold plunges, and the saunas, and the intermittent fasting and all of it," he told Melvin. "I had stage 3 cancer and had no idea."James Van Der Beek Was 'Rail Thin' When He Passed Away

Source: megaJames Van Der Beek was in hospice for several weeks.

It's since been reported that Van Der Beek had been in hospice for weeks and was "rail thin" at the end of his life."He was mostly in bed because he was very weak, and he was not eating," a source told an outlet. "They held his hand and were there for him, of course, but it has been hard because James was so ill, he was weak." The insider added, "He had so much charisma, he was a wonderful soul, and his presence is missed. Those poor little kids."The actor is survived by his wife, Kimberly, and their six children.