Tuesday, 6 November 2007

Ricky Gervais reveals cancer scares

Comic thought he found lumps

Ricky Gervais has revealed he's had 2 cancer scares in the last 7 years.

The comedian – who lost his mum to lung cancer in 2000 – says the lumps turned out to be nothing.

'After my mum died I twice thought I'd found a lump,' Ricky, 46, says.

'Luckily it was nothing, but it scares you. It's better to be safe than sorry. You can have the best life in the world and it all means nothing if you haven't got your health.

'It's a real working class male preserve not to go to the doctor. But if I get the slightest illness I think I'm going to die.'

And although he's not the most svelte celeb, Ricky insists he likes to keep fit.

'I'm relatively healthy,' he tells Tesco magazine. 'I eat and drink too much but I don't smoke. I work out every day, which surprises people, but imagine if I didn't! I do it so I can live longer and eat more cheese.'

Ricky doesn't want to lose his chubby appearance, as he reckons it has helped to make him the star he is today.

'I'd lose roles if I lost weight,' he insists. 'I'm never going to be the action hero or the romantic lead but then I can be the slightly fat English one with the funny teeth.'