Tommy Walsh, a television personality, has announced that he is facing a new cancer diagnosis after doctors discovered a growth in his lung.
The 67-year-old Ground Force hero has told how he needed immediate treatment after a scan for an unrelated issue revealed the problem.
Speaking at a meeting for The Swallows Head and Neck Cancer Charity at the end of November, the TV personality and builder stated that he had ‘tried to be cheery’ in the aftermath of the worrisome news.
‘I have an urgent, emergency appointment at 9am tomorrow morning back in London,’ he told guests in the audience at the end of his talk, in what he termed ‘an unfortunate postscript’.
‘I had a chest infection again, had to go to the doctor and they sent me up to the hospital for a CT scan and they think there’s a three-centimetre tumour in the lung.’
Tommy continued during the video on YouTube: ‘I’ve been trying to keep cheerful, and you’ve cheered me up today anyway, and thank you for letting me reminisce and talk.’
‘I had to weigh up whether or not I was going to tell you about this, but I felt it would be unfair if I was to leave this and I didn’t tell you,’ he admitted.
‘That’s why I’m going to have to leave after this talk and I won’t be able to join you for a few beers tonight.
‘But I would hope and would be really pleased if you would have a few on my behalf and I’ll keep my fingers crossed, and if you wouldn’t mind keeping your fingers crossed for me.’
The Homes Under the Hammer host has yet to provide a public comment on the results of his scan, but it comes just days after he was supposedly fired from the show, which he has presented since 2021.
A source said the changes have been made as producers wanted a ‘makeover’ to ‘keep younger viewers interested.’
Tommy recorded his final scenes last year, and his replacement, former weather presenter Owain Wyn Evans, 39, is thought to have already began filming the popular DIY show.
Speaking about the shake-up, a source said: ‘Bosses wanted a makeover to keep younger viewers interested.
‘They have been keen to get Owain onto one of their popular shows for a while — he will add a new dynamic.’
They continued to The Sun: ‘The upcoming series will feature both Tommy and Owain as there is a three-month lag with the house makeovers, so there is some crossover.’
Tommy’s initial cancer diagnosis came during the epidemic.
The father-of-three, who has been married to wife Marie for almost 30 years, said in a 2022 cancer awareness campaign: “I went to my GP about an unrelated issue, and while I was there, he discovered this lump in my throat that he was a little concerned about.”
‘He said it may be nothing but that he would rather I went and got it checked and, unfortunately, it turned out to be cancerous.
‘I had to go in straight away and have surgery to remove it. I am now fully recovered and even back playing football.’
Tommy lost four stone as a result of the cancer and following radiation treatment, but he confirmed at November’s discussion that he had regained about half of it and weighed the same as on his wedding day.
In 2002, he had his first cancer scare when he had a benign tumour removed from his chest, which he mistook for breast cancer after his aunt and sister had it.
Builder by trade. Tommy rose to prominence after appearing alongside Alan Titchmarsh on the BBC gardening show Ground Force from 1997 until 2005.
His other television roles include Flip That House with Tommy Walsh, Celebrity Fit Club, Fix Your House for Free, and The Reclaimers.
Source My Celebrity Life.