Grange Hill legend ‘broke down in tears' after cancer diagnosis – as he shares his biggest regret

The Irish Sun

10-07-2025

GRANGE Hill icon Lee Macdonald has revealed he broke down in tears after doctors diagnosed him with skin cancer.
The 57-year-old, who is best-known for playing Zammo McGuire in the BBC drama series, first noticed a black mark on his face in 2023 but was given the all clear.
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Actor Lee Macdonald has revealed he broke down in tears after a cancer scare
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
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The actor is best-known for his role on Grange Hill
Credit: BBC
However, he was recently diagnosed with a pre-cancerous spot called keratosis after noticing another mark on his face, and will require surgery to have it removed in the
next
few weeks.
Opening up about the moment he found out the spot was cancerous, Lee told
'And then it started weeping, and it concerned me. But being a bloke you leave it and leave it there. You just don't bother.
'So I went to the doctors, and he said: 'It looks like it's a BCC.' I said 'What's a BC?', he said 'It looks like cancer.' He said 'but we need to get you a biopsy to confirm.'
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'And I remember going down and sitting in the car with my friend Andy, and I cried for about an hour. It wasn't confirmed at that time, but just the word cancer, that really scared me.'
After receiving results of the biopsy, Lee was told it wasn't cancerous but it was a 'real eye opener' for him.
Two years later, Lee recently found another mark on his face and this time was told by doctors that it's pre-cancerous and has been caused by sun damage.
The actor has an appointment with the dermatologist to get it removed, but is worried as he's had two scares in a short space of time.
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After leaving Grange Hill, Lee used sunbeds to feel more confident, but regrets using them following his diagnosis.
He explained: 'Without a shadow of a doubt, if I look back now, obviously, because of my complaints, I wish I'd never, ever gone near them if I knew now what I knew, then I would not have touched them. I would not not go near them.'
Grange Hill legend Lee MacDonald reveals he's battling skin cancer after noticing 'unusual spot' on his face
Interestingly, Lee's dad had skin cancer previously which has left him feeling 'concerned'.
The BBC star portrayed Zammo on the hit children's drama series from 1982 to 1987 and was involved in huge storylines including heroin addiction.
As well as Grange Hill, Lee has also made appearances in The Bill and mostly recently in EastEnders as character Terry.
After leaving the show that turned him into a household name, the child actor planned to turn his boxing hobby into a career but his dream was ended after ended up in a serious car accident.
At just 21, he was left with severe head injuries and his life was changed forever.
What is melanoma, what are the symptoms and how can you prevent it?
Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer that has a tendency to spread around the body.
It is diagnosed 16,000 times per year, and tragically takes the lives of 2,340 people per year.
The number of people being diagnosed with melanoma is increasing, and it is the 5th most common cancer in the UK.
But it is also one of the most preventable cancers, with 86 per cent of cases in the UK avoidable.
The best way to protect yourself from melanoma is to be sun safe - wear SPF every day, wear a hat and sunglasses and keep out of the sun in the hottest hours. It is also advised to avoid sunbeds.
People who are fair-skinned, have blue or green eyes, blonde or red hair and a large number of freckles or moles are more likely to get skin cancer.
Surgery is the main treatment for melanoma, particularly if it is found early. This will involve removing the affected tissue in the skin.
Radiotherapy, medicines and chemotherapy are also sometimes used to try and stop the cancer from growing. Treatment depends on the severity of the disease.
What are the symptoms?
The key thing to look out for are changes to an existing mole, or a new mole on your skin.
Most experts recommend using the simple
There are five letters/words to remember:
A
symmetrical – melanomas usually have two very different halves and are an irregular shape
B
order – melanomas usually have a notched or ragged border
C
olours – melanomas will usually be a mix of two or more colours
D
iameter – most melanomas are usually larger than 6mm in diameter
E
nlargement or elevation – a mole that changes size over time is more likely to be a melanoma
A mole that changes size, shape or colour may be a melanoma.
But other signs to look out for include moles that are:
Swollen and sore
Bleeding
Itchy
Crusty
How deadly is it?
Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer.
The outlook of a person's disease depends on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed.
Survival is better for women than it is for men.
'We don't know exactly why this is. It may be because women are more likely to see a doctor about their melanoma at an earlier stage,' says Cancer Research UK.
The charity says that generally, statistics show that in England, more than 85 out of every 100 people (more than 85 per cent) will survive their melanoma for 10 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Around 100 per cent in England diagnosed with melanoma at stage 1 - when the cancer cells are only in the top layer of skin - will survive for five years or more after diagnosis.This drops to 80 per cent for stage 2.
Some 70 per cent live for a further five years when they are diagnosed in stage 3, which is when the cancer has started to spread to nearby lymph nodes.
At stage 4, when the melanoma has spread elsewhere in the body, almost 30 per cent survive their cancer for 5 years or more.
Cancer Research says the stage 4 data does not account for age differences. Age can affect outlook and younger people have a better prognosis than older people.
Age can affect outlook and younger people have a better prognosis than older people.
What is melanoma?
Melanocytes are cells in the skin that give us the colour of our skin because they produce a pigment, known as melanin.
When you sit in the sun, melanocytes produce more pigment (a sun tan), which spreads to other skin cells to protect them from the sun's rays.
But melanocytes are also where cancer starts.
Too much UV causes sunburn, and this is a sign of damage to the skin's DNA.
The UV triggers changes in the melanocytes, which makes the genetic material become faulty and cause abnormal cell growth.
People who burn easily are more at risk of skin cancer because their cells do not produce as much pigment to protect their skin.
Those with albinism are at the most risk because their skin produces no pigment at all.
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Lee has shared his biggest regret after finding marks on his face
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial