Frazer Hines has "battled cancer for 11 years"

[Si Hunt]

Frazer Hines has recently revealed that he had been battling bowel cancer for eleven years. The actor has said that he kept his illness secret in fear of finding that he would no longer be offered work, but has now been given the all clear and is promoting awareness of the illness through Cancer Research and the Bobby Moore Cancer Foundation.

Only close family were aware of his illness, which also didn't feature in his recently published his revised autobiography Hines Sight.

Quite shocking, poor Frazer. He says:

They said I had a 25 per cent chance of survival. The prognosis was terrifying. My brother Roy died of lung cancer aged 41, my dad of a heart attack at 62. I suddenly thought, The Hines arent going to live very long. It was like I was next in line to go.

When I got out of the hospital bed (after a bowel operation and chemotherapy treatment) I walked to the mirror and saw this grey face staring back. I told myself, "there's someone who's cheated death." After they discharged me I felt like I wanted to grab life by the horns. The first morning I was home, I went for a ride on my motorbike. Liz (Hobbs, Frazer's then wife) was furious and said I would rip my stitches out.

During the period Frazer continued to work in a panto in Grantham. I did the chemo in the morning then, with a catheter in place, I attended rehearsals and went back for chemo in the evening. I did 13 shows a week. I never told anyone in the cast. I never felt sick and was full of energy. My hair actually grew so much that I could put a bow in it by the last show. I had chemo for four months.

A scan later showed he was clear of cancer but doctors warned there was a risk it could return. For the next five years, I still didn't tell anybody and certainly didn't want it to become common knowledge in the showbiz world as I knew I would never work again. I thought if people in TV knew, they'd think "we can't have him, hes got cancer, too big a risk." I also didn't want fans to feel sorry for me and have everyone thinking I was at death's door. I wanted people to treat me like normal no matter what I was going through.

I stayed away from TV but did theatre. On stage you always have an understudy, so if I took a turn for the worse I wouldnt let anyone down. On TV you would and there would be no coming back from that.

I had six-monthly check-ups until this year when a colonoscopy confirmed I was in the clear. It felt I was finally free again. Now I can tell people and help inspire them.

Bowel cancer doesnt have to be a death sentence. You can survive. I did.

What a brave man he is.

Si.

[Rob McCow]

That's astonishing. I remember some of us met him in 2003 at a signing (I'm sure others of us have met him several times elsewhere!) and he seemed in perfect health. I can't imagine what he must have been through.

[SiHart]

Blimey. What a pro, to carry on working through all that. That's dedication.

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

I've always liked Frazer. He was great in Doctor Who, and he's always been a fine ambassador for the show, never afraid to get the old kilt back on for us. When did you ever see him less than jocular in an interview or at an event? One of the legends of Who, really.

Si.

[Stuart Wallis]

When did you ever see him less than jocular in an interview or at an event?

Quite! When you listen to him on a BF or DVD commentary or documentary, you'd never once stop and think. It says a lot about his dedication and his acting when you think about it.

[Andrew Curnow]

I'm glad to hear he's got the all-clear - as has been said already, you'd never have guessed he was ill from his appearances on DVD, etc.