He has always had a talent for making people laugh, so it is fitting that humour has got Jimmy Tarbuck through his latest health scare.
Just three weeks ago, the 81-year-old was in hospital having a cancerous mole removed from his back.
But the comic, whose career has spanned more than six decades, refuses to be down after twice battling cancer and reveals he even “danced out of the hospital” after his recent op.
Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, Jimmy says: “It was a melanoma so it could have been pretty serious if they hadn’t caught it sooner.
“It turned out it was definitely cancerous but, as far as they could tell, it hadn’t spread.
“When I went back for the results, the doctor took me in and said, ‘I am going to have to see you again...’ and I went, “Why, what’s wrong?’ and he paused before he said, ‘In a year” and I went, ‘Yippee!’ and danced down the stairs.
“You know, I can’t say to you, ‘I haven’t got cancer’. But if
they tell you that it hasn’t spread, for now, that’s the best news you can get.”
It’s not been an easy few years for the Liverpudlian comic, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer just after his 80th birthday.
Jimmy recalls: “I had radiology every day for a month and one of the hardest things was having this big needle stuck in my stomach.
“It made me feel so incredibly sick but I would lie on the bed and take my mind off it by thinking about a nice glass of Chablis.
“The nurses were wonderful. They used to say years ago, ‘You know you are getting old when policemen look young’. Well, that was the case with these nurses from all over the world.
“I really do have to say a big thank you to the Royal Marsden Hospital in Fulham. They told me what to do and I did it religiously.
“I am free of cancer for now although I still have to take tablets for my prostate. I must be the only one who takes them with the occasional lager.
“It’s a new type of medicine. My sense of humour has definitely carried me through and, thank God, I’ve had no real side effects.
“I can’t play golf as well as I once did but I still enjoy it.
“And I can’t play football any more although I love the fact that I can support my beautiful Liverpool. That is very
enjoyable.”
Jimmy is looking forward to celebrating his 82nd birthday in exactly two weeks’ time and insists he will “perform for as long as I am fit and healthy”.
He will also mark 63 years of marriage to wife Pauline this year, who he has been with since he was 17.
Jimmy says: “I really do want a few more years to enjoy my family and life.
“No one has enjoyed showbusiness more than me. Nobody.
“When the time comes, I’d love my ashes to be scattered on the stage of the Palladium. It changed my life, that theatre.
“I’ve loved being Jimmy Tarbuck… I am called Lucky Jim for a reason. If I knew what the secret was I would bottle it and sell it…”
