Louis Walsh secretly battled cancer during the pandemic. The 71-year-old was diagnosed with a rare form of the disease during a check-up. During a chat on Celebrity Big Brother, he spoke publicly about his torment for the first time.
He said: “I was sick and I think nobody knew I was sick. I had cancer. A mild version, a rare one. In my blood. “I didn’t even know that I had it until I went to the hospital, and then they checked me, checked me, checked me. Then they found it. They said, ‘It’s a rare one.’”
READ MORE: Click for more brilliant Daily Star showbiz stories
READ MORE: Click for more brilliant Daily Star TV stories
Former X Factor judge Louis has since made a full recovery. But he has admitted he is still mentally scarred by the ordeal. Pointing at his head, he said: “It’s just up here. Even when I go past a hospital I almost get sick.”
(Image: ITV)
He added: “It’s all gone, I’m fine. It was just the shock of being sick and that word… nobody wants that word. I have it blocked out.”
Louis also revealed battling cancer was “a reality check”. He said: “You see so many people sick and it’s terrible. In my world it was all about pop music and all that.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Louis added: “I didn’t think of anybody getting sick or anything like that. And that was like, ‘Wow reality check, you’re in the real world.’”
Louis was also affected by cancer in 2021 when pal Sarah Harding was killed by the disease. The pair worked together when he was her manager at the height of her fame in Girls Aloud.
(Image: PA)
Talking about her death, he said: “I mean, what a waste.” His pal Sharon Osbourne, who left the TV house last week, was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2002 and later had a double mastectomy to avoid getting it again.
Celebrity Big Brother continues tomorrow at 9pm on ITV1.
Want all the biggest Showbiz and TV news straight to your inbox? Sign up for our free Daily Star Showbiz newsletter
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
