3AW’s drive presenter, Derryn Hinch has admitted he is suffering from an illness that may be terminal but is refusing to divulge what it is.

As evidenced by these press photos he has lost up to 20kg and, by his own admission, “looks like a bag of bones … like a dead man walking”.

In New Idea magazine, Hinch is quoted as saying this is the worst period of his life as he not only battles illness but sexual assault allegations from a former colleague.

Asked if his condition is terminal, Hinch says: “Not at this stage, but it could be.My doctor told me bluntly I had to change my lifestyle, or else. The only people who will know what’s wrong with me are myself, my doctors and my wife.”

Media Week reports that Hinch first realised he was sick in February when he started losing weight and suffered lethargy. Sometimes he felt so weak he was forced to take a nap on the studio floor before going on air.

Hinch, who was lambasted for suggesting television star Graham Kennedy died of AIDS, underwent a raft of tests shortly before marrying his fourth wife Chanel Hayton in February and says he was shocked by what the doctors found.

But he denies speculation he has pancreatitis, which is known to cause dramatic weight loss.

“You can go through every organ you can think of and it won’t get you anywhere,” he says. “I’ve been asked if I have AIDS and others have said Alzheimer’s. People were also saying I had bowel cancer. I’ve lost a lot of weight, between 15 and 20 kilos, and at one point I got down to 69 kilos, but I believe I’m turning the corner.”

Hinch has also vowed to fight sexual assault allegations from a former colleague whom he accuses of trying to blackmail him. He denounces the allegations as “Fantasyland” and says he will go after his accuser with malice.

In the New Idea story he says: “I think she thought she could stare me down, but she’s picked the wrong person. Not only am I going to go her for defamation, but I’m going to go for defamation with malice.”