Father Ted creator Graham Linehan diagnosed with testicular cancer

Father Ted creator Graham Linehan has revealed that he has been diagnosed with testicular cancer.

Mr Linehan broke the news on Twitter as he explained why he cancelled his forthcoming comedy tour of Australia.

“I got a bit of bad news recently. A little touch of the old cancer. Luckily, ball cancer is one of the best ones to have (sorry, ladies!) and they got rid of it all pretty quickly, along with a ball” he wrote.

“Bye, ball! I'll never forget the good times!”

I got a bit of bad news recently. A little touch of the old cancer. Luckily, ball cancer is one of the best ones to have (sorry, ladies!) and they got rid of it all pretty quickly, along with a ball. Bye, ball! I'll never forget the good times!

— Graham Linehan (@Glinner) June 27, 2018

He went on to say that the next time in this treatment is chemotherapy, which he’s not looking forward to, but it’s “better than dying”.

Next up is a course of chemo to make sure it doesn't come back. Not looking forward to that, obviously, but it's better than dying.

— Graham Linehan (@Glinner) June 27, 2018

Earlier this month it was revealed that Father Ted was making a comeback after 22 years as a stage musical, called Pope Ted.

Amid the thread, he gave fans an update on how writing was going.

He wrote: “Pope Ted is coming along nicely. It's really making us laugh. I'm not sure whether I'll have to stop working on it or what, but the script (sorry, ''book'') is so close to being done that I can walk away from it for a while and we're still in good shape”

‘Pope Ted’ is coming along nicely. It’s really making us laugh. I’m not sure whether I’ll have to stop working on it or what, but the script (sorry, ‘book’) is so close to being done that I can walk away from it for a while and we’re still in good shape.

— Graham Linehan (@Glinner) June 27, 2018

He finally apologised to his Australian fans and thanked the people of Twitter for their kind words.

So that’s the story. I’m hoping I’ll just continue to be the happy-go-lucky, beloved twitter personality you all know, but if there are moments of quiet from me, don’t worry, I’m just dealing with it.

— Graham Linehan (@Glinner) June 27, 2018

Ugh, God, people are so nice. You forget sometimes. Thanks, everyone.

— Graham Linehan (@Glinner) June 27, 2018