Cancer (disease)

DAME Esther Rantzen has shared a heartbreaking health update after stopping treatment for lung cancer.

The veteran TV star, 85, was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in January 2023 and had been undergoing experimental medication, though is no longer receiving any treatment.

She had previously joined a Swiss assisted dying clinic, Dignitas, in late 2023, stating her desire for a peaceful death if her treatment failed.

She has now revealed in a heartbreaking health update that she is celebrating Christmas early this year in case she doesn’t make the actual day.

Speaking to The Times, she said: “This year I am planning an ‘official’ Christmas with my children and five grandchildren, slightly ahead of the real Christmas so that there will be more chance that I am actually alive to enjoy it with them.

“Although I live alone, Rebecca (her daughter) will come and decorate the house beautifully, as she has done every year with all my old baubles and bits of tinsel.”

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In the candid interview, Dame Esther said: “When I was diagnosed with lung cancer in January 2023, I did not expect to last until the next Christmas, so the fact that I am still here and looking forward to this one is a wonderful surprise.”

She then revealed how she is no longer receiving treatment, and her cancers are progressing.

“Right now I am not receiving any treatment, which was my doctor’s decision, as the side-effects outweigh the benefits,” she explained.

“So the cancers are progressing but, according to my most recent scan, very slowly.

“Incidentally, I have also discovered a mental health issue I never expected, scanxiety,” she added.

Dame Esther went on to explain: “Since I have no idea what is actually happening inside my own body, but every scan, every three or four months, carries with it the possibility of bad news, as the date approaches my anxiety levels rise — and we cancer patients have christened it scanxiety.”

She also revealed her “great hope” for the coming year, and what she would really want to happen.

“My great hope for 2026, which I do not expect to survive long enough to witness, is the final passing of the Assisted Dying Bill through all its stages in parliament,” she said.

Dame Esther is a big supporter of the Assisted Dying Bill, which narrowly passed through Parliament back in June.

At the time of the Bill passing through the House of Commons in June 2025, Dame Esther said the terminally ill are “truly voiceless” and face an “agonising death” – adding: “This is a crucial debate for the truly voiceless.”

She went on to say: “They are the terminally ill adults for whom life has become unbearable and who need assistance, not to shorten their lives but to shorten an agonising death – and their loved ones who under the current law will be accused of committing a crime if they try to assist or even stay alongside to say goodbye.”

Dame Esther also spoke about how she is in the midst of planning her memorial service, in her most recent interview this weekend.

She said how it is “quite fun to put together” as she is ruthless about asking favours from friends.

“Fortunately I have friends who are wonderful readers, Tom Conti, for instance, and Imelda Staunton and Judi Dench.

“It’s going to be quite an event!

“Pity I can’t be there myself,” she added.

Dame Esther previously questioned whether her stage four lung cancer might have been caused by exposure to asbestos at the BBC’s Lime Grove Studios in West London, where she filmed That’s Life! for 21 years.

Speaking to The Times in 2023, Dame Esther said: “Some time in the late-Eighties or early-Nineties, workmen wearing white spacesuits arrived to take down walls and ceilings along the corridors where I wrote our scripts to remove the asbestos.

“This did not surprise any of us since my team had called our route to the canteen ‘asbestos alley’.”

JESSIE J has taken a leaf out of Jennifer Lopez’s book and taken aim at her Hollywood ex on her new music.

Earlier this year, J-Lo slammed Ben Affleck on track Wreckage of You after her marriage to the actor broke down.

Now Jessie has let rip at Channing Tatum, who she dated from 2018 to 2020, on her album Don’t Tease Me With A Good Time, which is out on Friday.

On the not-so-subtle track Threw It Away, Jessie brands a former flame a “beast”.

She sings: “I put my heart out on the table, that’s when it got uncomfortable. But oh that karma is gonna come one day, ’cause I gave you my love and you threw it away.”

She later adds: “Don’t you dare rewrite the story. I’m the beauty, you’re the beast.”

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Taking to the stage at an exclusive listening party for the album in West London, Jessie did not mention the Magic Mike star by name.

But she left little doubt among fans who the track is about.

She said: “This next song I wrote in 2020 with Ryan Tedder, and you can figure out who I was dating.”

After taking time out over the summer to undergo treatment for breast cancer, Jessie is working at full pace.

Opening up about her health battle, Jessie said: “I’m grateful for the lessons and grateful for the connectivity it’s given me with so many people having cancer.

“And I’ve been a better parent, I’ve been a better person.”

BROADWAY star Elizabeth Franz has died at the age of 84, her husband has confirmed.

The Tony Award-winning actress had been diagnosed with cancer.

Her husband Christopher Pelham told The New York Times that she died as a result of the disease and a “severe reaction” she suffered from the treatment.

She died at home on November 4 in Woodbury, Connecticut.

Franz is best known for playing Linda Loman in a 1999 Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’.

It was this role that earned her a Tony Award and solidified her name among other Broadway greats.

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That production scooped four awards, including the one given to Franz for best featured actress in a play.

She was also nominated for her performances in ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’, a comedy by Neil Simon in 1983, and in 2002 for her role in Paul Osborn’s ‘Morning’s at Seven’.

As well as her husband, she is also survived by her brother, Joe.

More to follow…

DAVINA McCall has hailed Lorraine Kelly for encouraging people to “check their breasts” – after she bravely revealed her own cancer struggle.

Davina, 58, told fans she discovered a lump while “sitting on the loo” – after being urged to by posters put up by Lorraine.

The Masked Singer star shared her shock diagnosis at a Dine with Davina event yesterday, before posting an emotional video on Instagram today.

The crowd at the charity do – hosted at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton, Hampshire – gasped as she opened up on her quiet struggle.

Davina explained she made the discovery a few weeks ago, but has since had the lump removed and been given the all clear.

She will not undergo chemotherapy, but will be required to have five days of radiotherapy as a “insurance policy”.

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Davina had spotted signs in the ITV Studios encouraging people to “check their boobs”, which had been put up by Lorraine.

In the video on social media, she said: “I was working on The Masked Singer and Lorraine, the TV show.

“Lorraine Kelly had put signs on the backs of all the doors saying ‘check your breasts’ and every time I went for a wee I did that.

“It was still there, and then one morning I saw myself in the mirror and thought ‘I’m going to get that looked at’.”

Speaking on stage, she said: “I went and I got it checked. She (the doctor) was like, ‘You’re fine. You had a mammogram in August. It’ll be fine’.

“And I thought, oh, I’ll be fine. That’s great. But then she said, ‘Oh, well, if it is anything, we’ll do a little biopsy’.

“‘But if it is anything, it’s so small, you’ve got it early’. Anyway, I got the result back a few days ago. It was four millimetres, which is minute.

“I had a biopsy. I found out it was indeed breast cancer and I had it taken out in a lumpectomy nearly three weeks ago.”

She said her fiance and hairdresser Michael Douglas, 52, encouraged her to open up about how she was feeling.

Davina continued: “Because when I got it I just started feeling much better – you and me got into a really good place.

“I got really f*****g angry. And you know me, I’m a pacifist – I don’t really get angry – I’m like Tigger. I’m just always happy.

“I was like: ‘Are you f******g joking? What the f**k! Are you serious?”

“I was keeping it all in and Michael one day looked at me and he said: ‘Stop. I can see what you’re doing.

“‘You’re not going there. He said: ‘Let’s talk about it – I said: ‘I’m fine.

“He said: ‘You’re not fine’. I was like: ‘No, no, I’m fine. Honestly. ‘I’m not f*****g fine, that’s why I’m f*****g mad.

“He just sat and he came and watched me and I was f*****g stamping my feet. And it felt so good.”

It comes almost a year after the mum-of-three underwent emergency surgery to remove a “very rare” brain tumour.

The Long Lost Family host initially broke the news to her followers in a heartwrenching video on Instagram.

Davina had asked for prayers before having the operation to get the 14mm benign tumour – called a colloid cyst – removed.

Davina previously said her operation to remove the benign tumour was “the best thing to ever happen to me”.

She admitted spiralling into denial after it was discovered by chance last year, but was spurred into action by surgeons.

Breaking down in tears at Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place Festival, Davina revealed doctors told her she would die if she didn’t act quickly.

She said: “I needed someone to tell me what to do, and my American doctor told me I should undergo surgery to have the tumour cut out.

“When I got the phone call, although it was a hard one to hear, I needed it.

“But after the operation, I was aware of a noise in my head, and they were thoughts. I realised I did not have that before.

“I am not afraid of dying anymore. It was the biggest journey of my life. It was an amazing time.”

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Davina has since started her Begin Again podcast in an attempt to help others on their deathbed.

The show is dedicated to empowering people to embrace midlife as their most transformative era yet.

OVER one million people watched as Brittany Miller made the perfect roast potato over the weekend – for her perfect twins in her perfect home with her perfect smile.

But behind the 29-year-old influencer’s flawless façade lies a sinister web of lies which saw her fake cancer and con her followers. Now, for the first time we reveal the truth behind her shock scam – and why she’ll stop at nothing to achieve fame.

In 2017, Brittany was an unknown 21-year-old living in Oxfordshire, with dreams of becoming the next big social media influencer. Her small online community were then left shocked when she claimed to have been diagnosed with stage three gastric cancer. 

Her friends rallied around her – a crowdfunding page was set up to help support her financially and interest around her started growing.

But then just as fast as her cancer news started spreading – it then disappeared and wasn’t mentioned again. No trace of her extraordinary lie could be found online. 

It wasn’t until 2020 when Brittany collaborated with a breast cancer awareness charity that her former best friend decided to speak out – revealing the whole thing had been a scam. 

Brittany lied to us all – not just her friends but also her followers online

Former friend

The police have confirmed to The Sun that Brittany was indeed convicted of her crime – fraud by false representation.

In July 2020, she was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and was forced to pay compensation and costs to the Crown Prosecution Service. 

Her criminal record will no longer show up on basic checks, which has left her victims furious. 

Speaking anonymously, a former pal revealed that Brittany had in fact been the one to set up the JustGiving page and had begged her friends to circulate it for her.

They told us: “Brittany lied to us all – not just her friends but also her followers online. 

“Now people are following her and they have no idea what she is really like.

“Yes it happened years ago but lying about cancer is really wrong. Lots of her followers will have family members living with cancer but little do they know that every time they watch one of her videos, they are giving money to a fraud.”

MAKING CASH AND FALLING OUT

Indeed, Brittany has built herself a successful online career. Her videos are mostly her dishing up huge meals, making home comfort food or showing hauls from Temu or Shein.

It might not be groundbreaking stuff but she has 3.5 million people following her on TikTok.

Her boyfriend, Ash Griffiths, regularly features in her clips and in July last year she gave birth to identical twins, Elijah and Emiliano, who have also become a big part of her content. 

The couple recently moved into a plush new home in East Sussex, thanks to the proceeds from Brittany’s TikTok account.

Looking back, another friend recalled how Brittany would tell her she was in hospital, having treatment, including radiotherapy and would guilt trip her when she wasn’t available to hang out with her.

Things came to a head when the pal accused Brittany of stealing money from her grandma.

In messages seen by The Sun, someone appearing to be Brittany admits to taking the cash but blames it on the strong medication she was taking. The pair fell out shortly after. 

In the weeks and months after Brittany’s crime was revealed, there has been a lot of online speculation but she has never addressed what happened. 

The former pal told us: “Brittany has done what she can to erase her history and will delete any comments referencing it.

“It’s pretty scary to think she was happy to lie about cancer and makes you wonder just how far she will go to be super successful.

“This isn’t about getting revenge on her, it’s about people knowing the truth, which they deserve.”

PAST MISTAKES AND PRESENT ISSUES

The cancer scam wasn’t the only time Brittany has been caught telling lies.

In 2018, she was convicted of travelling on the railway without having paid the fare. She gave the officer of the railway company a fake name and address. She was fined £320. 

In recent months, Brittany’s parenting has also come under question and  she revealed how an anonymous hater had accused her of child abuse.

Ash, who is the father of their twins, was even quizzed on her being an alcoholic and a “druggy.”

I’m in the spotlight, I get millions of views every video, I get it, there’s nasty people out there

Brittany on her fame

Unlike in the past, Brittany decided to be very open about what had been going on and, in an emotional video, she acknowledged that someone reported her to social services, not only accusing her of child abuse, but holding her responsible for “lots of things”.

She confirmed that she “got questioned about everything” and was “really upset” when she spoke to them on the phone, so much so that she “kept having to pause” because she was crying so much.

No further action was taken but the whole incident left Brittany shaken up. 

She said at the time: “People are so desperate for my downfall and bringing me down, but bringing my children into it is ludicrous – why would you want to do that to them, innocent babies?

“Do what you want to me, whatever, but to them, innocent children who are clearly very happy and healthy babies, that’s crazy, you’re an actual weirdo, you’re an actual loser.”

Brittany added:  “Never in a million years did I think I’d have to go through something like this – obviously, I’m in the spotlight, I get millions of views every video, I get it, there’s nasty people out there, I understand that. 

“I just think, how cruel can you actually be? So, so cruel.”

It’s not just Brittany who has been left shaken up by it all – her former friends now fear they will be targeted by trolls accusing them of spreading lies to social services.

An insider said: “It feels like trouble follows Brittany. She might have this perfect life on social media but it’s not the truth. This drama with social services won’t be the last she’s involved in. But she’s built up an incredible following now – and they will support her, no matter what.”

Brittany has been contacted for comment.

BELOVED actor Tchéky Karyo has died of cancer at the age of 72.

Karyo was best known for his starring role in the film Nikita, James Bond hit GoldenEye and in the popular BBC series The Missing.

His passing was announced by his wife, actress Valérie Keruzoré, and their two children.

They released a heartbreaking statement saying the French film star had “succumbed to cancer this Friday, October 31”.

Kayro was best known in Britain for his role as TV detective Julien Baptiste in The Missing.

He played Baptise in the eight-part BBC series in 2014 before reprising his role in another eight episodes in 2016.

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Then the BBC launched a spin-off called Baptiste in 2019 centred around Karyo’s character.

At the time, the beloved actor said about the reprisal of the role: “I didn’t expect it, but it’s flattering. This has made me feel young again.”

The creators of Baptise had even teased another season of the mystery thriller earlier this summer.

Earlier on his career Karyo found global success on several top projects.

He played the handler Bob in Luc Besson’s assassin film Nikita in 1990.

Other major roles included Ridley Scott’s historical epic 1492: Conquest of Paradise and the James Bond film GoldenEye.

Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Kayro started out in French cinema in the 1980s.

His first major film role came in crime thriller La Balance in 1982.

His stellar performance even earned him a nomination for the César Award for Best Male Revelation.

One of his most recent roles came in 2023 when he joined forces with the BBC once again for the comedy thriller, Boat Story.

Kayro had 140 roles across his decorated career in both film and TV.

He was also a singer songwriter with two albums being released in 2006 and 2013.