Lucy Davis supported by dad Jasper Carrott as she made emotional public return after breast cancer shock
The Office star was reunited with her Shaun of the Dead colleagues at a London convention days after revealing her incurable stage four breast cancer diagnosis.
Lucy Davis was supported by her comedian father Jasper Carrott as she made her first public appearance since revealing she has incurable stage four breast cancer.
The 53-year-old Office actor appeared at the For the Love of Fantasy and Sci-Fi convention at ExCeL London on Saturday (22.08.26), 11 days after publicly disclosing her diagnosis and joined her Shaun of the Dead co-star Simon Pegg and the film’s director Edgar Wright for a panel celebrating the 2004 zombie comedy, while Jasper, 81, was seen watching his daughter from backstage.
According to the Daily Mail, Lucy, who played Dianne in Shaun of the Dead, slowly made her way on stage after previously explaining that pain from her illness can make standing and walking difficult and that she sometimes needs to use a wheelchair.
Her cancer has spread to her bones, including her spine, right hip and ribs.
Filmmaker Edgar later shared a photograph of the trio together on Instagram.
Lucy told the convention audience: “It’s like this whole second family you never knew you had. Everyone is like a community, friendly, supportive of us, but you guys and each other. So I’m quite hopeful about that, to be honest.
“We need a bit more niceness in the world, and we get it here. So I’m grateful for you guys.”
Asked what advice she would give somebody hoping to enter the film industry, Lucy said: “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do or be anything that you want to do or be.
“We all grow up just with lies from the world telling us that we all have limitations, and none of us do.
“Our only limitations are the things that we think are limiting us. You can do anything and be anybody, and don’t apologise for it.”
Lucy is best known for playing receptionist Dawn Tinsley in Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s BBC comedy The Office, which ran from 2001 to 2003. She subsequently appeared as Etta Candy in Wonder Woman and played Hilda Spellman in Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, as well as starring in Shaun of the Dead.
The actress revealed on 11 August she had been diagnosed with stage four breast cancer 18 months earlier.
She said the disease had metastasised to her bones and was incurable and too advanced for chemotherapy.
In her original Instagram announcement about her heath fight, Lucy said: “The initial lump that I felt, wasn’t a ‘lump’ as such; rather a kind of hard spot. Really tiny. I almost didn’t bother getting it checked. So I guess I’m saying don’t ignore anything – get everything checked out.”
She added: “As of now, I’m trying to live out whatever might be left of my life in as fun a way as I possibly can.”
Lucy said humour had become particularly important and that she had asked friends and family to continue making fun of her rather than treating her differently because of her illness.
She added: “There’s nothing that will make you feel more unwell than being treated as if you’re unwell.”
She also said: “I’m not scared of whatever comes next. I’m at peace with it.”
Lucy later added she had been overwhelmed by the response to her announcement, writing on Instagram that she had “ZERO idea” the post would receive the attention it did and thanking followers for the “tremendous amount of kindness and support”.
She accompanied her message with an older video showing Malachi Barton teaching her to skateboard while they were working together on Disney Channel comedy The Villains of Valley View.
Lucy played Eva Madden in the series, adding another television role to a career that has ranged from the workplace awkwardness of The Office to horror comedy and superhero films.
Lucy has previously experienced serious health problems.
She underwent a kidney transplant in 1997 after her mother donated an organ and was later treated in hospital for kidney failure before recovering.
The actress has also previously spoken publicly about having diabetes and experiencing bulimia.
Lucy was formerly married to The Mentalist actor Owain Yeoman, with their marriage ending in divorce.
