Dawn French on Graham Norton Show
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Dawn French reveals ‘awful’ health scare as doctors feared she had brain tumour

Dawn has fears about the condition returning

Dawn French has opened up about an “awful” health scare she had which left doctors concerned she had a brain tumour.

The Vicar of Dibley actress, 64, was diagnosed with vertigo during her 30 Million Minutes tour in 2014.

Dawn said the condition leaves her feeling like her skull is a room and “the whole of the top is collapsing inwards”.

Dawn French in black outfit for Glamour: Women of the Year Awards
The star opened up about her health scare (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Dawn French on health scare

Speaking on Michelle Visage’s Rule Breakers podcast, Dawn said: “It is like my skull is a room and the whole of the top is collapsing inwards, and everything starts spinning.

Read more: Dawn French rescued after car ordeal amid storm warnings

“It’s like being very drunk and not understanding what is up and what is down.”

Dawn explained that for a while doctors thought she might have had a brain tumour.

Dawn French on Walk the Line
Dawn said doctors worried she had a brain tumour (Credit: YouTube)

She continued: “I went and had all kinds of investigations and in the end a very clever neurologist told me, ‘No, this is triggered by all the light which is side-lit on the stage.

“‘Your brain cannot take all of this light because you’ve got that coming into the side of your eyes but you’ve got blackness right in front of you where the audience are.

“‘You’ve got nothing to latch your eyes to.'”

Dawn French in black outfit
Poor Dawn suffered from vertigo (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Dawn said she was performing on a raked stage, which meant it sloped towards the audience.

Dawn continued on the podcast: “I took a stick on stage with me and I would make my two legs very wide on stage and I would put the stick in front of me like a tripod so that I had something to stand up to.

“It was like being on a buffeting boat or something. It was awful.”

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Dawn’s 2022 tour

Dawn is getting ready to go back on tour this year for her Dawn French Is A Huge T*** show.

However, she has fears about her vertigo returning.

Read more: Dawn French fans gutted as her GMB interview is axed

Dawn added: “Three weeks to the day that I finished that show, it just went. So I have a slight fear that that might come back.”

Dawn’s 2022 tour begins in September 2022.

Can you relate to Dawn’s struggle? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know. 


Rebecca Carter
Associate Editor (News)

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