First Dates’ barman Merlin Griffiths reveals he’s been diagnosed with bowel cancer

‘I’m keeping a positive outlook’: First Dates’ barman Merlin Griffiths reveals he’s been diagnosed with bowel cancer and faces a year of treatment

  • Merlin Griffiths is battling bowel cancer and was told by doctors he has a 75% chance of living for more than five years 
  • The First Dates star received his diagnosis after doctors found a 4.5cm stage three tumour 
  • Merlin has a seven-year-old daughter called Alix with his partner Lucille who he has been with for more than a decade 
  • He says that he will remain positive and put his faith in the NHS to cure him of the cancer


First Dates’ barman Merlin Griffiths has revealed he is battling bowel cancer after receiving a bleak diagnosis from doctors. 

The 46-year-old was told he has a 75% chance of living for more than five years after medical tests unearthed a stage three tumour that measured 4.5cm in length.   

Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, Merlin said: ‘I’m keeping that positive outlook, but I’ve a morbid sense of humour. I tell people, “I have colorectal cancer… it’s a real pain in the ar*e!”

First Dates’ barman Merlin Griffiths has revealed he is battling bowel cancer after recieving a bleak diagnosis from doctors

Merlin has a seven-year-old daughter called Alix with his partner Lucille who he has been with for more than a decade and will be by his side as he faces a year of life-saving treatment. 

When the barman told his young daughter of the troubling diagnosis he reassured her of the powers of modern medicine and gushed about the public healthcare system. 

He said: ‘I have so much faith in medicine and the NHS in this country, which is just so incredible.’ 

Keeping his emotions behind closed doors, Merlin admitted: ‘I’ve shed a tear in private. But you can choose “to do” or “not to do”. I chose to lead my life as normal, to stick to the facts about it, and to keep putting one step in front of the other.’

The 46-year-old was told he has a 75% chance of living for more than five years after medical tests unearthed a stage three tumour that measured 4.5cm in length

The 46-year-old was told he has a 75% chance of living for more than five years after medical tests unearthed a stage three tumour that measured 4.5cm in length

The TV personality, who became a household name alongside Fred Sirieix in the First Dates restaurant, 

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