Martin Kemp schmizing on the BRITs red carpet
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Martin Kemp on ‘best thing he ever did’ after brain tumour battle thanks to wife Shirlie

It saw him through an incredibly tough time

Martin Kemp will be battling it out on The Wall Versus Celebrities with his wife Shirlie.

The Spandau Ballet star, 60, hopes to outwit the wall and win big for his chosen charity in the BBC show hosted by Danny Dyer.

Ex-EastEnders star Martin has enjoyed 34 years of marriage to Pepsi and Shirlie star, Shirlie, 59.

However he needed her more than ever when his world came crashing down in 1995 when he received a shocking diagnosis.

Martin Kemp schmizing on the BRITs red carpet
Martin Kemp was diagnosed with two brain tumours (Credit: SplashNews.com)

“Ticking time bomb”

In devastating news, Martin was diagnosed with two brain tumours, which he referred to as a “ticking time bomb”.

Thankfully doctors were able to remove the first tumour after a nine-hour operation.

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However the ordeal had left the performer unable to walk and without the sight of one eye.

Due to its location the second tumour was more difficult to remove, but thanks to his wife Shirley’s research, Martin was successfully treated by a surgeon in London two years later.

The singer praised Shirlie for “tricking” him into counselling (Credit: Splash)

“Tricked into counselling”

Life seemed to be on the up for the star who had just bagged a juicy role in EastEnders.

However Martin said he was in denial about what he’d been through and ended up being “tricked into counselling sessions” by Shirlie.

The Pepsi and Shirley star arranged for her husband to see a “masseuse”, who was actually a counsellor.

Thankfully for Martin, the sessions worked wonders, and he praised his wife for her continued support.

This Morning today: Martin Kemp on show
Martin said the counselling sessions were ‘one of the best things he did’ (Credit: ITV)

“Crying my eyes out”

He said: “There’s a big difference between crying to someone you don’t know and telling your family about your problems,” he told The Sun.

Speaking about the secret of his longstanding marriage to the former pop star, Martin said he was lucky because he met his “best friend”.
The couple are proud parents to Capital FM DJ Roman Kemp, 29 and Harley Moon, 32.
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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor