HEARTBREAKING: Former Strictly star found three lumps in brutal ‘wake-up call’
Actor Will Mellor certainly didn’t sugarcoat his latest health revelation.
Former Strictly star Will Mellor has opened up about his recent health scare (Image: BBC)
Former Strictly Come Dancing star Will Mellor has opened up about his worrying health scare after finding three lumps on his back. The Two Pints of Lager star is teaming up with private healthcare firm Beneden Health to encourage men to be proactive about looking after their health after losing his dad to cancer. Now, the 50-year-old star has shared his own uncomfortable health scare in a worrying “wake-up call”.
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, he told us how he was left feeling “panicked” after finding the suspicious lumps earlier this month. He confessed: “I found a lump, and at first I ignored it, but then I went in for another check and I asked the doctor to check it out because I was a bit panicked.
“They said it was a cyst and booked me in to have it removed. I went back the next week and had it sorted. I’ve still got the stitches in the back of my neck. I’ve got another two on my back as well that I’m booked in for, but it really relaxed me knowing it was a quick and easy fix.
“I’m 50 now. If I don’t check out myself and something happens, I’ll feel guilty that I’m cheating my wife and kids out of my own health. I want to see my daughter get married, I want to see my grandkids and all that sort of stuff.”
The Line of Duty star then opened up about his father’s struggles with his health and the impact it had on him and his family. He recalled: “I lost my dad within two weeks, and I’m sure if we’d caught it earlier, we’d have got a lot more time with him.
“He had lung cancer. He had a cough, and I kept saying to him to get it checked out, but by the time they found the cancer, it had spread from his lungs to his brain. You think you’re young forever, and you never have to worry about health issues and stuff like that.
“But there’s a certain point in your life when you’ve got to take hold and hold a few wake-up calls.” The TV star went on to reveal that in addition to losing his dad, he has also lost three uncles, and auntie and a couple of friends he grew up with in recent years.
The actor confessed his father’s passing was a “wake-up call” (Image: PR Handout)
He went on: “Suddenly, you start losing people, and you start thinking, ‘That could be me’. I think men as well, we always think, ‘It’s going to be somebody else, or this happens to other people, not me’.
“But with the NHS at the moment, there can be from six months up to a year or two to get something checked out, and it’s not their fault, it’s just how it is.” Will is supporting not-for-profit healthcare provider Beneden Health’s new campaign, The Wake-Up Call, which explores why so many men only take action after something significant happens.
Speaking about the campaign, he admitted: “This was really important to me because I come from a working-class background and I’m very proud of it. I’ve always had the opinion that private health care was for the rich.
“But what I learnt with Benenden Health was that you can get private healthcare for the cost of two coffees a week. Your health is the most important thing we’ve got, it’s our most valuable currency, so we need to invest in it and subscribe to our health.”
For more information about Beneden Health’s The Wake-Up Call campaign, visit their website.
