Fr Ted writer’s all-clear
Linehan learned he was free of cancer a day after he went public with diagnosis
FATHER Ted creator Graham Linehan has spoken about his relief when he learned that he was cancerfree, just a day after publicly announcing that he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer.
The screenwriter and comedian recently underwent surgery to remove a testicle, and said that a series of ‘Chinese whispers’ led to him being told that he would need to undergo chemotherapy.
‘I’m sitting here now in a week where I really thought I would be undergoing chemotherapy. It’s kind of a comedy of errors why I was led to think that,’ he told the An Irishman Abroad podcast.
Last week, The IT Crowd creator took to Twitter to reveal the news of his diagnosis and the following day announced online that he had just been given the all-clear and wouldn’t need further treatment.
In the interview with comedian Jarlath Regan, Linehan said that due to a ‘misunderstanding’ between medical staff, he was told during a consultation following his surgery that he would need to three rounds of chemotherapy.
‘It wasn’t anyone’s fault, it was kind of Chinese whispers what happened,’ he said, adding that the prospect of facing chemo was tough on him and his wife, Helen.
‘Helen really suffered, she really, really suffered,’ he revealed.
However, after being told last week that he is now cancer-free, he is now focusing on creating the upcoming Pope Ted – Father Ted the Musical. ‘I never wanted to go back to Ted for any reason, but I did always have a thing at the back of my head saying a musical because it’s a different form,’ he said. He also revealed that the election of Donal Trump as US President inspired the idea. ‘I thought if Trump can win, maybe Ted can be Pope,’ he added.