Eric Idle reveals he survived ‘one of the most lethal’ cancers

Doctors were able to diagnose the 79-year-old extremely early

Monty Python star Eric Idle has revealed he survived “one of the most lethal” cancers, after receiving a rare early diagnosis.

The 79-year-old comedian and writer, who helped found the Monty Python comedy troupe in 1969, made the disclosure in a recent op-ed.

“About three years ago I was incredibly lucky: I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer,” Idle wrote for Time magazine.

“Lucky? One of the most lethal forms of cancer, how on earth was that lucky? Well, because it was found incredibly early.”

He jokingly added: “No, not before lunchtime, but before it had gone anywhere.”

Idle recalled how he had asked his friend, Doctor David Kipper, “the quickest way to die” while conducting research for a play about a writer who is penning a musical about death when he discovers he is about to die.

In 2019, the same friend, who specialises in preventative medicine, helped diagnose Idle with pancreatic cancer.

After undergoing surgery at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, Kipper told him: “Well, you’re in very good shape. The cancer hasn’t recurred. You should have about 10 years.”

Eric Idle (Ian West/PA) (PA Archive)

The news comes after Idle’s Monday night (21 September) elimination on the season eight premiere of the US version of The Masked Singer.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly after being unmasked on the celebrity singing series, he addressed his motivation for appearing on the show.

He said: “I thought to myself, well, you better see if you can still do it, if you can still sing and dance.

“If you can actually go in front of a large audience and do something daft in costume. And so that, for me, became the motivation to do it.”

Alongside Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Sir Michael Palin, Idle helped steer the Monty Python comedy troupe to become one of the UK’s best known.

Chapman died in 1989 of tonsil cancer aged 48 while Jones died in 2020 aged 77 from a rare form of dementia.

Additional reporting by Press Association