First Dates star Merlin Griffiths has revealed he has had a "dreaded bowel cancer complication" which saw him rushed to hospital on Monday.
The bartender, 46, took to Instagram on Wednesday to reveal while he is now back at home, he has had a small anastomotic leak and abscess which will mean multiple operations.
Merlin announced last year he has been diagnosed with bowel cancer after doctors discovered he had a 4.5cm stage three tumour.
Back in April, Merlin underwent surgery to remove the tumour and was discharged from hospital six days later.
Updating fans on Wednesday, the television personality uploaded a selfie of himself back home alongside the caption: "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.
"#nhs #BowelCancerAwareness. I'm alive, which is the main thing."
An anastomotic leak is a leak of luminal contents from a surgical join, which is a complication that can occur after gastrointestinal surgery.
Merlin's First Dates co-stars took to the comment section to send their well wishes.
Laura Tott wrote: "You will get through this sending loads of love and positivity your way," while Fred Sirieix sent a kissing and prayer emoji.
Merlin had told his followers he had been admitted to hospital on Monday as he posted a selfie from his hospital bed.
He wrote: "Oh... Squibwibble. #complications. # nhs. #BowelCancerAwareness."
Merlin revealed his diagnosis in an interview with Sunday Mirror last September, explaining that he was facing a year of treatment while vowing: "I won't let it get the better of me."
The father-of-one was told by doctors he has a 75% chance of living beyond five years.
He 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.
Merlin said: “I thought, as most people must when they get a diagnosis, ‘Oh f***, I’ve got cancer’.
“I also wanted to know, what are my chances of surviving? It’s terrifying – of course I want to live.
“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.”
