Soaps

Former Coronation Street actor Gray O’Brien reveals he has been battling cancer

He found out three months ago

Former Coronation Street actor Gray O’Brien has been battling cancer for three months.

The actor, who played Tony Gordon on the ITV soap, has been suffering with stage four tonsil cancer, but he has now completed his treatment.

He wrote on Twitter: “About 3 months ago a trip to the doctors with swollen glands led to stage four tonsil cancer. Today marks the end of my treatment & I couldn’t be more thankful to everyone who has supported me along the way.”

https://twitter.com/RealGrayOBrien/status/1199039635676119042

Gray, who is also known for starring as Richard McCaig in Casualty during the late 90s – shared a video of himself ringing the bell in hospital to signify the end of his treatment.

The 51-year-old star previously admitted appearing as Corrie villain Tony was a “game-changer” for his career.

He said: “‘Coronation Street’ was a game-changer for me.

“You know how big that character was. It was absolutely bonkers.”

Gray played Corrie villain Tony Gordon (Credit: ITV)

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But Tony was killed off in 2010, spelling the end of Gray’s three-year stint on the soap, and the actor admits he struggled to land other roles after his acting on the cobbles.

He added: “For the first six months I didn’t even think about work because I knew the phone wasn’t going to ring.

Gray appeared in the ITV series The Loch (Credit: YouTube/Lorraine/ITV)

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“Then the next six months it didn’t ring either and going into the second year it still wasn’t ringing.

“When it gets to five and six years you are thinking, ‘What is going on?’ People feel they can’t touch you because you are just too well known as that character.”

Since starring on Corrie, Gray appeared in ITV crime drama The Loch.

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Charlotte Rodrigues
Soap Contributor
Charlotte Rodrigues joined Entertainment Daily in April 2018, as Audience Engagement Executive. A huge soap fan, Charlotte then became Senior Soap Writer, delivering the latest storylines and spoilers to our followers.

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