‘We’re clear!’: First Dates star Merlin Griffiths shares positive cancer update

Bartender was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2021

First Dates star Merlin Griffiths has shared an update on his cancer, revealing that he is “clear” of the disease.

The 48-year-old, who has appeared as the bartender on the hit Channel 4 show First Dates since it launched in 2013, was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer in 2021.

The London pub owner shared an update with his fans via Instagram on Thursday (6 April), revealing that he had been to his one-year colonoscopy check up.

Griffiths shared that his preparation for the examination was “difficult”, meaning he’d had to wear “adult nappies” and had only slept two hours.

“Felt like hell. First one with my newly connected a*** too (sans rectum), so I was a little nervous.”

However, Griffiths shared a positive update, despite the uncomfortable examination process, writing: “But along with my last blood tests (clear), at one year examination, we’re clear! Phew.”

Along with a selfie of him wearing a hospital gown, he also shared a photograph of a medical letter that reads the words: “No cancer seen”. He added that his next check up will be in three years (2025) and the last one in 2027.

On First Dates, where single people looking for love are paired up, Griffiths greets the arrivals at the First Dates restaurant and makes impressive cocktails for the contestants.

In January, the bartender and mixologist underwent the final stage of his treatment and had his stoma bag removed.

Posting a photo of himself in a hospital bed to Instagram, Griffiths wrote: “Feels weird looking down and not seeing a stoma. My hand keeps feeling for my bag to see how full it is, and coming up empty!” he said at the time, thanking the NHS for their “amazing” care.

He added: “Things start happening once I fart properly! I hope it’s soon because I’m very hungry....”

To raise awareness of stomas – a waste bag connected to either the digestive or urinary system to allow waste to be collected – Griffiths has been showing his support for A Bear Named Buttony, a Scottish charity that helps children and young people who have a stoma.

The charity gifts a teddy bear, which has a miniature stoma bag, to children to help them adjust to life with a stoma.