Can’t Pay? We’ll Take It Away! star Delroy Anglin revealed that he is battling an aggressive form of leukaemia back in April and needs a bone marrow transplant to save his life.
But due to a minority of people of Afro-Caribbean descent registered on the donor list it was difficult for doctors to find a match for the bailiff.
Now the star has been given a glimpse of hope after more than 100 people joined the donor register to try and help save his life.
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Delroy’s co-star Paul Bohill launched a campaign to try and find a donor for Delroy and hundreds of fans have been spreading the message “far and wide”.
Standing alongside Delroy in an online clip Paul told fans: “Sadly to save his life he needs a bone marrow transplant. But we found that the number of donors of his ethnic background, Afro-Caribbean, is actually very sparse.
“The purpose of this video is to appeal to you to spread this far and wide as you possibly can.
“To try and encourage people of Afro-Caribbean descent to register.
“Please spread this video far and wide.”
Following the video, which was watched by thousands, there were hundreds of people who registered within just two hours.
Ronke Oke, who organised a plea for donors in Croydon on behalf of charity Afro-Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT), announced the news. She said: “Delroy is always overwhelmed by the support, and he was overwhelmed by this response.
“More than 100 people in just two hours – that’s pretty good.
“We hope it can make the difference.”
She went on to say: “We would hope any one of those people could save his life. That’s why we do what we do.
“We’re trying to get as many people as possible to sign up in the hope that we can find a match for Delroy, and thousands of others in his position.”
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Delroy spoke out about being diagnosed with the awful illness earlier this year. He told the Croydon Advertiser: “You feel as if someone has pronounced a death sentence.
“At the end of the day, unless somebody says differently – I’m terminal.
“My family have reacted so well. They’ve been absolutely amazing.
“It’s strange, people don’t usually like bailiffs. But I have had so much support, from everyone including complete strangers.”
The Channel 5 star added: “When they tell you, you’re just hoping someone has made a mistake, but they haven’t.”