First Dates star Merlin Griffiths updates fans after bowel cancer surgery
20 April 2022, 10:01
The First Dates bartender has undergone an operation to remove a tumour.
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First Dates Merlin Griffiths has issued an update to fans after undergoing surgery amid his battle with bowel cancer.
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The much-loved bartender, who makes drinks and chats to the daters while they wait for their suitor to arrive, announced on Twitter that he's had a tumour removed.
Last week, he shared a photo in a hospital waiting room captioned: "Ready as I'll ever be. Tumour removal time."
He then followed it up with a selfie from his hospital bed alongside the words: "2am. Tubes outta everywhere. Aches and pains. But no tumour!"
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Merlin has received a huge amount of support from friends and First Dates co-stars in the comments, with waitress CiCi Coleman sending a number of heart emojis, and Laura Tott writing "Sending you so much love ❤️".
Merlin announced in September last year that he'd been diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer.
He said that he "won't let it get the better" of him, and opened up about the heartbreaking moment he told his daughter.
Detailing the conversation, he said: "I said, 'Dad's got cancer'. She said, 'Is that bad, Dad?'
"I said, 'Yes, it's very serious but I think it should be OK. Modern medicine's great and if anything changes I'll let you know.
"She understands that people can die but I told her cancer comes in different varieties and in different ways too – and that many people come through it."
