- \n
- Captain Tom: Where did the Money Go? documentary coming to Channel 5<\/a><\/li>\n
- Rebecca Loos criticises Beckham doc for \u2018making her look like a liar\u2019<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Those races comprised his initial surgery before three weeks\u2019 recovery, providing a sperm sample for ongoing IVF treatment with his wife Sian \u2013 \u201cmy last chance to knock one out,\u201d he grins \u2013 then six weeks of chemo- and radiotherapy.<\/p>\n
By then, cameras were following him for every session (\u201cexcept the sperm sample,\u201d he adds quickly), Gilbert having teamed up with a documentary crew he\u2019d worked with previously.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was lying in bed on the Friday, with my treatment due to start the following Monday. I rang the team I knew \u2013 there was no broadcaster on board, it was all on spec \u2013 and I asked, \u2018How would you fancy joining me on this journey?’\u201d<\/p>\n
Why did he want to put this experience down on film? Gilbert is refreshingly honest about his motivations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was partly for me. I\u2019d cancelled all my TV work and tours, and I wanted to have something other than \u2018cancer\u2019 in my diary.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew I wouldn\u2019t be well enough to go on stage or TV, but I thought I might be well enough to lie in bed and talk to a documentary team about how ill I was. I thought, \u2018It will give me something to do.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, by that point, I\u2019d found out my cancer had been caused by the HPV virus, something we vaccinate kids for. At every turn, I thought, \u2018I can do something here, which might actually change things.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it was partly for me and partly for others, but I wouldn\u2019t be able to give you the percentages.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Comedian]( "\\"Rhod-Gilbert-on-A-Pain-in-the-Neck-Channel-4-documentary\\"\/")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Comedian Rhod Gilbert.<\/span><\/figcaption> Channel 4<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n The cameras recorded Gilbert\u2019s gruelling treatment that saw him bed-bound between sessions. He starts hesitantly to describe the motion sickness caused by his chemotherapy, the fatigue brought on by radiotherapy, but when I tell him I went through the same experiences at a similar time \u2013 diagnosis in July, surgery in August, followed by 16 weeks of treatment \u2013 he relaxes and we launch into the shorthand of fellow travellers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing I need tell you, then,\u201d he chuckles, and we share a smile. \u201cIt\u2019s all about balancing the meds, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n
The documentary also catches frequent glimpses of the humour that has secured his fame and fortune. Was that a defence mechanism, or did Gilbert find certain aspects of the process genuinely darkly funny?<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you do?\u201d he shrugs. \u201cIt\u2019s in my nature to see jokes, put punchlines on things. And because I had cameras with me, I was probably putting on a bit of a performance. But it\u2019s what humans do. That\u2019s our armour. We try to disarm the whole thing by making ourselves and others laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cCancer is a lot less scary if your oncologist is laughing with you. It takes the sting out of some of the moments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gilbert is saving some of the worst things well-meaning people have said to him for his next tour: \u201cI have a whole section dedicated to that. Generally, people tie themselves up in knots trying not to say the wrong thing, which means inevitably they put their foot in it.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the thousands of people I\u2019ve met, though, I think most people prefer to be open. The one thing to remember is that it\u2019s very difficult to say something that would make it worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
He can pinpoint the best thing more readily. \u201cI was back on the road earlier this year. I got a call to say my latest scan had shown the cancer was in the areas they knew about, but it wasn\u2019t in my lungs or my brain.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told my consultant, \u2018This is the best day of my life.\u2019 If you\u2019d told me that three months earlier\u2026\u201d he trails off. \u201cWell, everything becomes relative.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Rhod]( "\\"Rhod-Gilbert-and-Sian-Harries\\"\/")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Rhod Gilbert and his wife Sian Harries.<\/span><\/figcaption> Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n And more good news has followed recently, with Gilbert receiving his first clear scan. \u201cThe best thing was that the tumour had gone, and it was once again an ordinary blood vessel.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has also been buoyed by the love of the people around him throughout the past 18 months.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a remarkable group of friends. They created a rota system to take me to and from hospital, which meant someone taking half a day out of their lives once every six weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
At home, he was cared for by his wife, comedian and writer Sian Harries, although viewers of his documentary will only see her in the closing scenes. \u201cShe didn\u2019t want to be in the doc, it was too much to look after me and to also be on camera. The caring for me was enough, which I appreciate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite this support, he acknowledges now that those months were not the easiest. \u201cI wasn\u2019t well enough even to read or watch television, there wasn\u2019t any one box set that got me through. A friend texted to remind me, \u2018One day at a time,\u2019 and I thought, \u2018Are you joking? It\u2019s more like an hour at a time. Or ten minutes.’\u201d<\/p>\n
More profoundly, what did get him through was the work of the doctors and nurses \u201call on the NHS\u201d, a team he\u2019s quick to praise.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a challenging time for everyone, politically, socially, environmentally, the general state of the world. But what I\u2019ve seen over the past year and a half is kindness, compassion, the absolute wonder of human beings at their very best. And that has been my comfort blanket.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now his treatment has segued into the routine of scans and checks familiar to so many cancer patients, Gilbert has made some concessions to getting fitter \u2013 \u201cfunnily enough, before my diagnosis, one of the things I was discussing [as a Velindre Centre patron] was joining a campaign to encourage patients to do exercise, because it will help them\u201d \u2013 but, for the most part, he\u2019s relishing life going back to normal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I could say I\u2019ve given up drinking. I go to the gym a bit more, but I\u2019ve broadly returned to the lifestyle I had before, and I\u2019m thrilled about it. I\u2019ve had a big party here this weekend, and I want that to be a message of hope. I never thought I\u2019d be sitting around a campfire, drinking and dancing with my friends, and here we are.\u201d<\/p>
Gilbert\u2019s lifestyle may not have changed, but life has, and he turns reflective. He and his wife are freshly set on having a family (he made a BBC documentary in 2021 about infertility). \u201cIt\u2019s been a long process for us, and we are still very open to all the many and varied means of being parents. It\u2019s completely focused the mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pauses. \u201cI\u2019m not sorry I\u2019ve had cancer.\u201d For the first time in our long conversation, he loses his composure. \u201cIt\u2019s an odd thing to say, and I feel terrible for my wife. But I feel I can help other people, being there for friends, holding other people\u2019s hands. I think this documentary can help a lot of other people, and I like having a sense of purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen for myself how important bringing more to the table is. All I\u2019ve seen is love and care and kindness, and it makes me more hopeful for humanity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a clich\u00e9, but life now tastes a whole lot sweeter than it did. I don\u2019t feel like life has given me lemons, I feel like it\u2019s given me a lovely trifle.\u201d And we share another smile.<\/p>
- Rebecca Loos criticises Beckham doc for \u2018making her look like a liar\u2019<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"Comedian](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/10\/Rhod-Gilbert-on-A-Pain-in-the-Neck-Channel-4-documentary-c2ff1e3.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Rhod-Gilbert-on-A-Pain-in-the-Neck-Channel-4-documentary\\"\/")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>![\"Rhod](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/10\/Rhod-Gilbert-and-Sian-Harries-23cd90c.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Rhod-Gilbert-and-Sian-Harries\\"\/")
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