Harry Potter actor Timothy Spall describes “pain and the horror” of cancer diagnosis

Harry Potter actor Timothy Spall has spoken out about the “pain and the horror” of his cancer diagnosis. The award-winning star, 68, who is known for playing Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter film series and starring in 2014 film Mr Turner, said the thought of leaving his family behind was “unbearable”.

Speaking to Saga Magazine, the actor spoke about his leukaemia diagnosis, which he received in 1996. He said: “I was 39 and we had three kids, and out of the blue I was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease called acute myeloid leukaemia.

“When I was told I had it, I got down on my knees and asked God to spare me for my family. There was a time when they thought I might not make it. The only really unbearable thing was what my family would do if I went?

“I wouldn’t be there to look after them, and that was my job as a husband and father. The pain and the horror of what me dying would do to the people I loved was the only unbearable side of it. The rest I could take.

“One day, between treatments, the doctors had done tests and they thought I’d relapsed. A massive mushroom-type thing had grown in my lung. I was about to go and have full body radiation and a bone marrow transplant knowing there were things in my body that’d potentially kill me. That morning, I woke up and thought, sod this, I’m not going to die.”

Spall is married to writer Shane Spall and has three children, Rafe, Pascale, and Mercedes. He added: “We’ve been married for 44 years and are inseparable. Joined at the hip. We got married four months after we met. I think there is a lot to be said for marrying someone you don’t know. I was just in love with her. She is also my best mate.”

The English actor won the Bafta for Leading Actor in 2024 for his role of Peter Farquhar in the true crime series, The Sixth Commandment, beating Succession star Brian Cox. He also portrayed the Duke of Norfolk in the hit BBC Two series Wolf Hall, following the life of Thomas Cromwell, the principal adviser to Henry VIII.

Spall said: “I thought it was a shoo-in for Brian Cox because Succession was such a popular show, and he was brilliant. It was my sixth Bafta nomination, and I got used to doing the ‘smile’, so I thought it was going to be another one of those. When I won it, I was genuinely surprised.”