Taskmaster's Richard Herring diagnosed with 'incurable' cancer
Taskmaster star Richard Herring opened up about having "incurable" leukaemia - five yars after he survived testicular cancer.
Taskmaster's Richard Herring has "incurable" leukaemia - five years after he beat testicular cancer.
The 58-year-old comedian revealed the "bad news" about having the blood cancer, which causes the bone marrow to make excessive abnormal white blood cells that cannot fight the disease, in an essay posted on Substack on Tuesday (16.06.26).
He penned: "I have cancer again. Not ball cancer this time, I can’t afford to lose another one of those (though I will be doing my show 'The Male Eunuch' if it does happen).
"This time I have blood cancer."
Richard quipped: "And God is determined to make sure I get the funniest cancers possible, and this one is called hairy cell leukaemia."
The stand-up comic added: "The other bad news is that it is incurable."
However, Richard said there was hope amid the sadness.
The Great British Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer 2026 contestant wrote: "The good news is that it’s entirely treatable and will not kill me (the treatment has a tiny chance of killing me, but so has loading the dishwasher, so don’t worry about it).
"I will, of course, be using the fact that I have incurable cancer for all its worth for the rest of my (hopefully long) life."
He joked: "I can get out of doing other people’s podcasts, any social event I don’t fancy, and also set up a JustGiving page with me with a sad face, hugging my kids, and asking for money to help them once I’m gone. Ha ha ha.
"It’s not even a scam. It’s all true. I just won’t mention that fact that it’s treatable."
Richard said it is "pretty annoying to get another cancer" five years after he beat testicular cancer.
And the funnyman noted that being diagnosed with leukaemia took several years.
Richard explained: "They found a few of the cells in my bone marrow about 12 years ago, but it didn’t get any worse, and after five years of being tested, the doctor said it was probably going to be OK.
"I’d sort of forgotten about it, to be honest."
Richard "confirmed that his leukaemia is "not linked" to the testicular cancer, the latter of which he was diagnosed with at the age of 53, and had a testicle removed.
The star added: "Someone up there just doesn’t like me. But they don’t hate me that much. So keep giving me the flimsiest and easiest to live with and funniest named cancers available."
He joked: "To have one cancer elicits sympathy, but getting two starts to look a bit like attention-seeking. At least get a properly dangerous one if you’re going to make a big deal about it. I feel a bit embarrassed about it."
Richard detailed his first chemotherapy appointment at Lister Hospital, and spoke of his "huge admiration for the NHS and their brilliant and funny staff".
The author stressed that the injection was "fairly painless" and that there were "no immediate problems".
