Larry Hagman diagnosed with cancer

Actor Larry Hagman said today he had been diagnosed with cancer.

The 80-year-old actor, who played JR Ewing in the TV series Dallas, said: “As JR I could get away with anything – bribery, blackmail and adultery. But I got caught by cancer.”

Hagman declined to say what kind of cancer he had contracted, but said it was “a very common and treatable form”.

Hagman underwent a liver transplant in the mid-1990s.

He said he would continue working on the revived version of Dallas for TNT, which begins production on Monday, adding: “As we all know, you can’t keep JR down!”

The new Dallas focuses on the Ewing offspring as they clash over the future of the family dynasty.

The original prime-time soap opera was shown on CBS from 1978 to 1991.