First Dates bartender Merlin Griffiths is recovering from surgery amid his 'painful and ugly' battle with bowel cancer.
The 46-year-old television star announced last year he had been diagnosed with bowel cancer, with doctors discovering he had a 4.5cm stage three tumour.
Since then, Merlin has continued to update fans on his health journey - including the removal of a tumour back in April.
In his latest post, the poorly barman shared an exhausted snap of himself whilst sitting in an hospital bed.
Merlin went on to explain that while it may be his last hospital stay "for a while", his cancer battle is still a "long" one.
Captioning the post, Merlin said: "Last time for a while I hope. Minor day surgery for some complications with my anastomosis following a Low Anterior Resection in April.
"The #CancerTreatment journey is long, and often painful and ugly. I couldn't do it without my family either. #BowelCancerAwareness #getchecked."
Fans and friends rushed to the comments section to wish him well, with one saying: "Hope you're home and on the up again soon!"
Another added: "Best wishes Merlin, fingers and toes crossed for you that all goes well."
A third wrote: "Lots of love and strength your way Merlin."
While a fourth posted: "Hang in there Merlin - you’re doing great and will get though this one bit at a time."
It comes after Merlin was taken to hospital last week after suffering bowel cancer complications.
Following the hospital visit, the star took to social media to reveal the severity of his condition.
Alongside a selfie, he posted: "Home again. Back again Friday. Had a very very small #anastamoticleak with abscess and collection.
"It's a dreaded complication with any bowel resection. My awesome surgeon Mr Bajwa is confident we can fix it.
"For now it means having more tubes lodged up my a**e and regular hospital visits for mini-operations until it's healed. Strict rest only orders for me too. I'm alive, which is the main thing."
Last year, the father-of-one was told by doctors he has a 75% chance of living beyond five years.
Merlin revealed his diagnosis in an interview with Sunday Mirror in September, explaining that he was facing a year of treatment.
He also described the difficult moment he had to explain his diagnosis to his seven-year-old daughter Alix.
He recalled: “I said, ‘Dad’s got cancer’. She said, ‘Is that bad, Dad?’ I said, ‘Yes, it’s very serious but I think it should be OK. Modern medicine’s great and if anything changes I’ll let you know.'
“She understands that people can die but I told her cancer comes in different varieties and in different ways too – and that many people come through it.”
The TV bartender, who also owns a pub in Lancashire, started getting feeling pain in June that year, but thought it was caused by scar tissue in his stomach from a car accident when he was 20.
Meanwhile, in April this year, Merlin underwent surgery to remove the tumour and was discharged from the hospital six days later.
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