Previously a taboo topic, celebrities such as First Dates’ Merlin Griffiths have made it their mission to raise awareness of colon cancer, urging individuals to take urgent action if they observe anything out of the ordinary.
He is renowned as the sparkling mixologist, whipping up cocktails at the drop of a hat and putting worried singles at ease as they go on their first date in front of the television cameras.
However, few viewers of Channel 4’s First Dates would have known that Merlin Griffiths was receiving chemotherapy throughout the filming of the most recent season.
Griffiths, who had a tumor removed in April after being diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer last year, told, “The previous time we worked in the First Dates restaurant, I was through chemotherapy, and the team was incredibly helpful.”
“One of the most significant negative effects I experienced was extreme weariness. So, a provision was established so that I could step away from the bar at regular intervals to eat and rest in between visiting our gorgeous daters.
“Similarly, as soon as we finished, I was immediately administered intravenous chemo… and that would beat me up. But that was okay because we got a few days off from operating the restaurant, and then it was back in and you were ready to go again.”
Griffiths claims he is not exceptional for working through his illness despite the rigorous nature of TV scheduling, stating, “People manage complete family lives, you know, many children, childcare, and work, and yet go for chemo and everything else. You find methods to make it work because what other option do you have? You are attempting to live.
In the United Kingdom, one in fifteen men and one in eighteen women will be diagnosed with bowel cancer over their lifetime.
However, although colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, it is highly curable if detected early.
Griffiths and the late Dame Deborah James have been instrumental in bringing bowel cancer to the public’s attention.
Griffiths knows the temptation to conceal the illness: “Initially, I wanted to keep it fully to myself and my immediate family… just to get my head around it… Then, however, it dawned on me that significant aspects of my life were about to alter, and someone might notice. Friends will inquire, “Why aren’t you going out?”
“So, I thought to myself, you know what? After speaking with my family, I might as well put this information to good use… I believe it is essential to use this for good.”
Since the show’s premiere in 2013, Griffiths has been a member of First Dates, which is now in its twentieth season.
Using his TV fame as a platform, he has been candid about his condition and its treatments, describing them as “long, and often painful and unpleasant” in social media posts.
He can’t help but joke about some of the less dignified treatments, adding, “My initial thought on colonoscopy was that if aliens had abducted me, at least they’d have the decency to obliterate my memories! In actuality, however, it wasn’t that horrible. Therefore, we should not be frightened to discuss it.”
He is aware that it is not an easy topic to broach: “The temptation is to avoid a lot of these topics, especially because they’re humiliating and stuff we don’t discuss.”
Even he confesses he first delayed seeking treatment: “It’s so simple for us to put things off, isn’t it? You can rationalize it and you justify it. I rationalized it.
“In all fairness, I was late to get tested, and I should have conducted investigations earlier. I am under 50 years old, so I do not qualify for the routine test. Therefore, it is my responsibility as a patient to care for myself.”
His symptoms began with abdominal pain and significant alterations to his bowel movements.
Other symptoms may include genital bleeding and/or blood in the stool, unexplained weight loss, and excessive fatigue for no apparent reason.
In Scotland, the NHS gives bowel cancer screenings to all adults aged 50 and older; this will soon be extended to England and Wales as well (currently in parts of England and Wales people are not offered screenings until they are 60). Northern Ireland offers screenings beginning at age 60. Thereafter, screenings are conducted every two years until age 75.
However, Griffiths argues that looking for symptoms online at random is ineffective, dubbing “medical Google” a “awful hellhole.” On his cancer journey, he has found websites such as the main charity portals for Bowel Cancer UK and the NHS to be essential.
And he claims he couldn’t have made it through without the support of his wife and kid, as well as his First Dates family.
They have been just great. I converse with Fred and Cici [Coleman] consistently. Both have been excellent, and it’s been a pleasure to have their backing. I frequently converse with folks who work behind the scenes on the show.”
In addition, he claims that the team’s leader, the French maître d’hôtel Fred Sirieix, is as pleasant as he appears on TV.
“Fred is amusing. He is alive… With Fred, what you see is what you get. And that is a refreshing quality to discover in someone. He is upbeat, cheerful, honest, and overly positive about almost everything.”
Away from his arduous treatments, Griffiths has at least been able to enjoy some luxury travel, albeit on a business trip for additional filming.
First Dates Hotel, an offshoot series, is filmed at the four-star Aquapetra Resort and Spa in Campania, southern Italy, as a testament to the success of First Dates. The current season is the seventh for the series.
As the longest-running dating program on Channel 4, First Dates has matched singles for nearly a decade, resulting in at least five marriages and three children. Therefore, what is the key to its success?
Griffiths asserts that it’s all down to human nature and a little forethought: “Love is eternal, isn’t it? It’s not moving in any direction. And people are infinitely diverse… When you combine these two elements — a timeless emotion and a timeless basic need — with the beautiful diversity of people, you have a recipe for success, especially if you strive to make it happen.
“There is a great deal of effort that goes into matching our daters, and that is one of the primary reasons behind it. Everyone who works at the restaurant has a sincere desire to see it succeed, which is essential.”
