Celebrity Bake Off's Rhod Gilbert opens up on the cancer side effects he is still struggling with

Daily Record

27-04-2025

Comedian Rhod Gillbert, will return to screens this weekend for a repeat special of the The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer after his own tough battle with the disease. The Welsh comic, 56, was previously diagnosed with stage 4 head and neck cancer in June 2022 and underwent extensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy to fight off his illness. Rhod bravely documented his experience with cancer in a special film for Channel 4 in 2023 and received his all clear diagnosis that same year in October. The funny man previously spoke of his new lease of life after returning to his good health, telling the BBC that everything felt a lot more 'sweeter' and 'important' as he returned to touring post recovery. Despite this, he recently revealed that he has been left with issues as a result of his cancer in his neck, throat and mouth and also sometimes struggles to fully taste things. In an interview with the Mirror, he opened up the lifestyle changes he has made: "I've tried to cut down on booze, I gave up smoking, but years ago I gave up smoking anyway." He added: "I guess I'm a bit more conscious now than what I was, but equally, cancer leaves you in this weird place where you want to grab life by the short and curlies." Explaining a frustrating side effect of the condition, Rhod said while treatment has allowed him to swallow properly again, it has changed the way he tastes beverages. He said: "Everything tastes disgusting, even water, even a cup of tea. I'm still left with some problems, so tea still tastes a bit odd, lots of things taste weird still. "My taste is almost, sort of 80 per cent back to normal, my swallowing is pretty good, but at the time, you can't swallow and everything tastes disgusting." The comic said that food is also "horrible" as he explained that during his treatment he was fed by a machine straight into his stomach due to swallowing being "too painful". Despite this, Rhod has expressed how grateful he is to be in better health again, saying that he mostly feels "great" and is "happy" to be touring again. He previously said: "I can't believe really quite how well I feel, I've got problems in my neck, throat area and my mouth area, but other than that, I feel great." That's not Rhod's only personal experience with cancer as a few months after his all clear, he received the devastating news about the deaths of his friend's father and his close pal, both of whom sadly lost their battles with cancer. Rhod will be back on Channel 4 this weekend alongside Danny Dyer, Leigh Francis and Yinka Bokinni on a repeat episode of the Stand Up To Cancer charity special which first aired in March last year. During the episode, he reveals how "lucky" he feels to be there. He adds: "For me, It's really really emotional to be here. "There was a point where I didn't really know what the future held. Just to be here, to be anywhere, is pretty good." The 2025 series of Celebrity Bake Up Stand Up To Cancer came to an end earlier this month after another five episodes filled with famous faces and fabulous baking creations. The final episode of this year saw Gloria Hunniford, Ellie Goldstein, Jamali Maddix and Jim Howick all go head to head. All episodes of the show can be found on the Channel 4 app with eight seasons having aired to date.