'First Dates' barman Merlin Griffiths reveals bowel cancer surgery

First Dates star Merlin Griffiths has revealed he is due to have surgery to remove a tumour from his bowel.

The barman from the hit Channel 4 dating show revealed last September that he had been diagnosed with Stage Three bowel cancer and is now scheduled to have his tumour removed.

Griffiths, 47, tweeted: "Operation scheduled. Three weeks to get my s**t together. Robotic surgery, welcome to the future! #NHS"

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He added: "Thank you to everyone wishing me well. May your lives be prosperous and filled with empathy and happiness."

Griffiths — who runs The Dog and Gun pub in Leicestershire — rose to fame mixing cocktails for nervous guests on the Channel 4 dating show and chatting to them as they wait to meet their blind date.

The father-of-one revealed last year that doctors had found a tumour about 4.5cm wide in his bowel.

He told the Mirror: "It’s terrifying – of course I want to live. I’ve shed a tear in private. But you can choose ‘to do’ or ‘not to do’. I chose to lead my life as normal, to stick to the facts about it, and to keep putting one step in front of the other.”

Griffiths — who has a young daughter named Alix with his partner Lucile — added: “The tumour has breached the colon.

“It’s wanting to move into the tissues surrounding it. But importantly, it hasn’t got into the lymph yet, meaning it’s not spread.

“My oncologist said, ‘Your five-year outlook is 75 per cent [chance of survival], but we aim to cure’."

The pub landlord was diagnosed after he went to Accident and Emergency suffering from bloating, nausea and abdominal pain.

Read more: 'First Dates' relocating up north after seven years in London

First Dates — which also stars French Maître d' Fred Sirieix — recently aired its 18th series.

The show relocated to Manchester after 15 series filming at Paternoster Chop House in London.

Watch: Corrie's Steve McDonald date EastEnders' Janine Butcher on Children In Need First Dates sketch