Rhod Gilbert is one of the most recognisable faces in comedy on TV, having hosted Never Mind The Buzzcocks whilst being a regular guest on shows such as Would I Lie To You?, QI and Mock The Week. But away from his funny one-liners, fans have seen much more of the comedian on a personal level over the past year, after he opened up about his devastating cancer battle.
The 55-year-old Welshman was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer of the head and neck in July 2022, and just last week, received his first all-clear scan since undergoing treatment. Rhod told Radio Times that receiving the news that it hasn't spread was "the best day of my life", adding: "I was back on the road earlier this year, I got a call to say my latest scan had shown the cancer was in the areas they knew about, but it wasn't in my lungs or my brain."
The news was later followed by his first clear scan, to which Gilbert said: "The best thing was that the tumour had gone, and it was once again an ordinary blood vessel." Now, he will star in his own documentary on Channel 4 - Rhod Gilbert Pain In the Neck - as part of their Stand Up 2 Cancer series of shows.
Rhod underwent chemo and radiotherapy, and has since received a clear cancer scan (RhodGilbert/Facebook)He signed up for the film, which airs tonight at 9pm, to give him "something to do" as his calendar was cleared and shows were cancelled whilst he underwent treatment at the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, where he had been a fundraising patron for a decade before his diagnosis. He has been supported at home by his wife and fellow comedy star Sian Harries.
Writer and actor Sian, who was named 'one to watch' by the Edinburgh TV festival in 2021, stars in comedies Man Down and Tourist Trap. She and Rhod married in 2013 and in 2020, launched their own podcast titled The Froth.
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The comedy duo moved three times last year in a bid to be closer to the hospital where Rhod was receiving treatment. In a candid update on Twitter, his wife Sian Harries said that "life is a lot at the moment." She wrote: "Moved house for the third time today since July so Rhod can be close to hospital. Life is a lot at the moment but we're getting through it with the help of our wonderful friends and family".
After a seven-year break from stand-up, Rhod returned in 2022 with his tour The Book Of John to poke fun at more serious topics he had experienced, such as bereavement, infertility and a mini-stroke. He said: "Until this show, all my stand-up was made up. I think pretty much everything was entirely fictitious. And in this show it’s not. It's all true stuff that happened: the stroke, my mum's Alzheimer's, the fertility treatment.
Sian has also made a name for herself in comedy (BAFTA)"As I got older, I started to feel… that I've got a bit of a platform here. And I should be doing more with it than just talking about toothbrushes. I have definitely become somebody who wants to be really open and talk about stuff, and who sees the value in talking."
Opening up about struggling to conceive with Sian, he admitted she had undergone eight years of invasive treatment before it was even considered that he should be checked. A topic he feels passionate about, he went on tour with a stand-up show about fertility in 2019 before having a documentary commissioned on the BBC, Rhod Gilbert: Stand Up to Infertility in 2021.
While Sian dealt with the complications of having the painful condition endometriosis, which can make it harder to get pregnant, Rhod discovered he too had his own problems, as his sperm proved to be "languid like their owner." Speaking on the taboo subject, he said: "I'm older than Sydney Opera House… Once, my sperm may have been rocket-fuelled baby bombs. But these days I'm told they're as old and wrinkly as the bag I keep them in. Senile swimmers in need of zimmers."
Before the documentary aired, the TV star admitted he was 'nervous' about its reception but hoped it would make a difference in breaking down barriers and getting men to talk about their reproductive health. "I'm still nervous about it," he admitted to WalesOnline ahead of its airing. "From the moment I first pitched this to BBC Wales I was in two minds."
Sian and Rhod have struggled to conceive over the years (British Podcast Awards via Getty Images)"Every day were we filming I was thinking ‘is this really what I want?’ and you can see that in me, it comes across - being the face of infertility, for Christ's sake? Most men don’t want to talk about this, and that isn’t going to change overnight because of this documentary, it’s going to take a long long time," he added.
Rhod, who is slowly returning to his normal self after successful cancer treatment, first noticed symptoms of his cancer with a sore throat, before a tumour 'popped up' on his neck whilst on a fundraising trek in Cuba. He also experienced terrible spasms in his face and severe tightness in his muscles.
The comedian said: "I couldn't speak and I couldn't breathe and I was postponing and cancelling tour shows. (We) couldn't get to the bottom of it. It turns out after a biopsy of this lump in my neck that I have something called head and neck cancer, cancer of the head sounded pretty serious."
Rhod Gilbert: A Pain in the Neck for SU2C airs tonight on Channel 4 at 9pm.
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