Peaky Blinders and Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill opens up after cancer diagnosis

Peaky Blinders and Jurassic Park star Sam Neill says he would not be around if it weren't for an advanced drug he received after being diagnosed with stage-3 cancer. However the 77-year-old, now in remission, has revealed he is "prepared" for when the treatment no longer works.

The revelations, made to Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time podcast, came after he announced last year he had been diagnosed with stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a form of blood cancer.

After undergoing chemotherapy for three months, the treatment stopped working, which is when he turned to more advanced, unnamed medication. "I’m in remission and as you see, I’m hard at work and enjoying life immensely," the New Zealander, who was born in Northern Ireland, said.

"I’m very grateful for not just the wonderful care I’ve had from doctors and nurses and so on. But also the strides that have been made in treating these things in the last few years. If this had happened to me 20 years ago, I wouldn’t be around to talk to you. I go in for treatment once a month now. But it used to be three times a month and it’s down to once a month now."

Neill became a household name after playing Dr Alan Grant in three Jurassic Park movies, before reaching a new audience with his portrayal of Chief Inspector Chester Campbell, who took extreme steps trying to bring down the Shelby crime empire in early series of the smash-hit, Peaky Blinders.

Speaking about his treatment on the podcast, Neill said he has "three or four horrible days" after each session, before he can return to normal life. But he says he is aware it will not work forever. "I'm prepared for that," he added.