Dean Gaffney has said he feels lucky to be alive after his medical treatment for I’m A Celebrity raised concerns about colon cancer, leading to emergency surgery.
The former EastEnders actor, 45, took part in the recent all stars version of the ITV reality show after originally taking part in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2006.
He got the boot from the series last Wednesday before fellow campmate Myleene Klass won the season on Friday’s episode.
Former soap star Dean first qualified for the covid-safe version of the show which took place during the lockdown at Gwrych Castle in North Wales in 2020.
And after undergoing medical tests for his possible appearance, doctors were concerned about what they saw as test results, with Dean now considering that the I’m A Celebrity tests saved his life.
Happy: Dean Gaffney, 45, has said he feels lucky to be alive after his medical treatment for I’m A Celeb raised concerns about colon cancer, leading to emergency surgery (pictured this week)
Reality star: The former EastEnders actor took part in the recent all stars version of the ITV reality show (pictured on I’m A Celebrity… South Africa this month)
He told the Mirror: ‘ I am undoubtedly a celebrity and the medical team saved my life. I might not be here today if they hadn’t found what they were doing.’
Doctors found a number of polyps in his colon that required an emergency procedure.
“Within hours I was in a hospital gown and under general anesthesia and they took it out,” Dean explained.
After recovering from his surgery, Dean claims a doctor told him, “If you hadn’t come to us today, it could turn into colon cancer in three years. You’ve been very lucky.’
Dean was one of 12 stars on standby to enter Gwrych Castle for the 2020 series if any of the existing celebrities on the show were affected by the coronavirus.
He said he was offered the job in September of that year and went for his medical in October.
However, blood tests showed he was losing blood, with doctors thinking he was anemic or iron deficient.
Dean had a gastroscopy, where doctors put a camera down his throat, and he also underwent a colonoscopy.
In line: Dean first qualified for the covid-safe version of the show which took place during the lockdown at Gwrych Castle in North Wales in 2020 (pictured on I’m A Celeb this month)
Concerns: After undergoing medical tests for his possible appearance, doctors were concerned about what they saw as test results (pictured for I’m A Celebrity… South Africa)
The TV star said “huge” polyps had been found, adding: “I think 20mm, which is big for a polyp.”
He continued, “They didn’t mess around, they put me under general anesthesia, operated on and burned out the polyps. When I came to, I saw that the doctors were a little angry with me and that it was serious.
‘They didn’t mince words and said how happy I was that it had now been found. I was amazed.’
Doctors were shocked that Dean had not noticed any blood when he went to the toilet, saying that if he ever sees red in his stools, he attributes it to food he has eaten.
However, Dean says he checks his stool all the time now, insisting he is eternally grateful, adding, “I feel someone is watching over me.”
Dean insists he is now in good health and, after leaving the South African camp, said he almost put on a rock during his appearance on the show because he was “eating like a king.”
Fame game: Dean entered I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here for the first time! in 2006, with the star being the eighth person to be eliminated (pictured upon his 2006 exit from the camp)
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: ‘It’s a great honor to have been asked back. I think about 300 people have gone to camp in the last 22 years, and to be asked back as one of 15 was actually a great honour.’
While most stars lose weight in the jungle due to the meager rations they receive, Dean said he ate well as the group continued to gain food from the challenges.
He said: ‘This is true because we kept winning, it was brilliant!
‘For me it was a breeze to get into the camp, I went in there for six, seven days, I ate like a king and it was good!
“That’s the problem in the camp, people are dropping out. When I was in the original camp, with David Gest, have his soul, I lost two stones and now I’ve almost added one!’
Breakthrough role: Dean occasionally appeared as Robbie Jackson in EastEnders between 1993 and 2019 (pictured in EastEnders in 1999)
Discussing the biggest challenge of getting back to the jungle, he said, “The worst thing for me was that I didn’t have a mirror, something stupid like a mirror.”
“You wake up in the morning, we all have bedheads, and you wake up and you’re like, ‘Ah, what do I look like?’ You can’t see it!’
He added: ‘May I just clarify that I showered every day, twice a day.
“They said on the show recently that ‘it was my first shower in five days.'”