The Circle star Freddie Bentley has revealed he had a "near death experience" which left him fearing he had cancer.
Freddie, 24, collapsed at an airport and was later warned he would need a liver transport in ten years, before he dramatically transformed his lifestyle.
The TV star spoke of how he was "petrified" at the thought he had HIV, but was then diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a chronic liver disease.
Speaking to the Mirror, Freddie, who appeared on The Channel 4 show in 2018, explained how his health scare "completely changed my life" and he now has a new lease of life.
In June, the TV star collapsed in the airport while on the way back from the Dominican Republic, and experiencing weeks of back pain.
He said: "As soon as I landed at Heathrow, I was taken straight to Basildon Hospital where they put me on a drip and diagnosed me with jaundice, but the doctors couldn’t understand why I had it, especially at the age of 24.
"At first, they thought I had Hepatitis-B or HIV, being a gay man... that itself was extremely scary, I was petrified."
The tests confirmed Freddie didn't have HIV but the doctors then thought he could have cancer, before tests came back negative for that too.
After two and a half weeks of tests and scans, Freddie was told he had PSC, which sees the liver bile ducts become inflamed and scarred, eventually leading to further liver damage.
Medics gave him just ten years of "youthfulness" on his liver before he would need a transplant.
Speaking about his anguish, Freddie said: "I was overwhelmed and at the age of 24 it's so scary because people aren’t diagnosed until their late 30s.
"Of course, I was a big drinker and I know that alcohol wasn't good for me because I would always be sick. But my doctors say the PSC has nothing to do with alcohol, it just wasn't helping."
Freddie's liver levels were much higher than normal levels, which spurred him on to quit drinking alcohol.
He is now proudly six months sober. Freddie said: "I think there's such a huge stigma about sobriety at a young age. Becoming sober I've realised I've faced a lot of my issues and grown so much more as a person."
Freddie added: "I think when you're faced with life and death and being told you haven't really got that long left to live it completely wakes you up."
Two weeks ago, Freddie returned to Royal Free Hospital in London, where he has been receiving treatment, and was told his liver levels have returned to normal.
He said: "I've still got PSC and there's still a chance I could have to need a transplant in years to come, but at the moment if I carry on my new lifestyle then it's not on the cards, which I'm relived about... It's given me a new lease of life. Sobriety has allowed me to start a new chapter."
