Rhod Gilbert has done his first television interview since revealing his cancer diagnosis, and fans have flooded social media with words of support.
Rhod, 55, stated last year that he was undergoing treatment for stage 4 cancer.
Last July, the Welsh actor revealed that he was undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer at the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, a facility for which he had donated funds and supported for ten years.
At the time, he assured followers that he was in the ‘best possible hands’ and thanked the ‘amazing’ NHS professionals who were caring for him.
While Rhod took a break from the comedy scene and his TV appearances, he has since triumphantly returned to the profession and promised to incorporate his sickness into his new stuff.
Rhod offered an update on The One Show on Monday night (October 30), expressing proudly that he’s ‘glad to be alive’.
He did, however, say he will ‘always have symptoms’.
‘Great!’, he responded when asked how he is doing now. ‘I’m alright!’
Rhod then laughed about how host Alex Jones told him he ‘looked awful’ the last time she saw him via Zoom.
‘I’ll always have symptoms and things, from head and neck cancer, the treatment’s quite rough, there’ll always be the niggly symptoms but, broadly, I feel wonderful!’
Rhod added that he’s ‘totally positive’ now, then going into detail about how he discovered his lump while actually on a trek raising money for cancer patients.
‘I had been a patron for about 10 years. No connection with cancer, I just lived in Cardiff and they approached me, and said, “Do you wanna climb Kilimanjaro with us?” and I said, “No, of course not, look at the state of me,” but they persuaded me and we did it, and since then we’ve done Peru and Cuba, Nepal, I’ve done quizzes, stand-up comedy nights, for the last 10 years, and then I’m in the middle of Cuba on a fundraising walk when a lump pops up in my neck.’
He described it as a ‘one-inch tumour’ in his lymph gland, laughing that you ‘couldn’t make it up’ how he ‘left as a patron, came back a patient.’
Rhod also mentioned that he had been journaling his adventures.
He was taken aback when he learned his cancer was caused by HPV, as he knew ‘nothing at all’ about the virus before becoming ill.
Rhod ‘hadn’t considered’ making a documentary until he understood he’d be out of commission for a time and wanted to share the things he was learning.
So good to see Rhod Gilbert tonight #TheOneShow
— jane smith (@johnofficials) October 30, 2023
Amazing line-up of guests on @BBCTheOneShow tonight.. Great to see Rhod Gilbert on the couch & on brilliant form ahead of his @SU2CUK A Pain In The Neck documentary which airs tonight
— Kevin Hughes (@Popprince) October 30, 2023
#RhodGilbert So happy to see you on the one show – can't wait to see you next May!
— ShelleyYalden 💙 (@ShelleyYalden) October 30, 2023
Love you Rhod! #RhodGilbert
— Saffron✨ (@s_ffron7) October 30, 2023
Ah man I am SO happy for Rhod Gilbert!!!!!!!
— 💀Lee Goatboy Hartnup💀 (@GoatboyHorror) October 30, 2023
‘I was going, “Do people know about this? I don’t know about this! We need to get this out there”,’ he said passionately.
‘This is avoidable, what I’ve been through for the last year, 18 months,’ he said, adding that audience members will approach him after comedy shows now to say they hadn’t even thought of vaccinating their sons against HPV, only their daughters.
The One Show also aired a sneak peek of Rhod’s documentary, A Pain in the Neck, with a heartbreaking clip of him ringing the bell to tremendous acclaim once his treatment was completed.
"There's a lot of laughs in cancer, you've got to laugh!"
🥹 The moment Rhod Gilbert got to 'ring the bell' when he'd finished his cancer treatment 💚#TheOneShow 👉 https://t.co/y1j8lIGEAM pic.twitter.com/KMhAMiXuhg
— BBC The One Show (@BBCTheOneShow) October 30, 2023
Despite the emotional nature of the matter, Rhod assured ‘there are a lot of laughs in cancer”
‘You’ve gotta laugh!’, the comic exclaimed, promising some ‘dark humour’ in his 2024 stage tour as he adjusts to his ‘new normal’.
Rhod’s documentary will be available to stream online.
The One Show airs weeknights at 7pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
Macmillan cancer support
If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with cancer, Macmillan can offer support and information.
You can contact their helpline on 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week from 8am to 8pm), use their webchat service, or visit their site for more information.
