Jason Manford has shared an update from hospital after he was forced to cancel four shows and a festival appearance due to emergency surgery for appendicitis.
The 44-year-old comedian said the appendix surgery “all went well”, but the experience had been “scary and painful” in an Instagram post on Friday (1 August).
In a follow-up post in the early hours of Saturday morning (2 August), he appeared in good spirits as he ordered pineapple and pepperoni pizzas to his hospital room as a “cheeky midnight snack”.
Manford was set to perform his stand-up show, A Manford All Seasons, on Thursday (31 July) in Hertfordshire. However, a last-minute update to his Instagram page informed fans that the gig had “been unexpectedly cancelled due to Jason Manford being unwell”.
A later post confirmed that an additional three events in Oxford, Lincoln and Skegness had also been rescheduled to November. He was due to perform at the Kendal Calling festival on Sunday (3 August), but was replaced by fellow comedian John Bishop, who joked that the appendix removal was “an operation that you should have had done when you’re seven years of age”.
Sharing a photo on Instagram from his hospital bed with a cup of Vimto, Manford wrote: “Bit of a scary and extremely painful 24 hours but thankful to our NHS and my incredible nurse mum who’s a godsend in a health crisis!
“My advice would be to not get appendicitis whilst driving at 70mph on the motorway!”
He expressed his regret at having to reschedule the events and said that the health emergency means he will no longer be able to join his family in Portugal next week.
“Seriously though, I’m gutted that I’ve had to move the dates this weekend, and I’m sorry for the late notice to so many people in St Albans, Oxford, Lincoln, Skegness and at Kendall Calling,” he continued.
“I thought I could get by on antibiotics and surgery at a later date so I could still do the shows, but was advised not to. Also means I can’t fly out to Portugal on Monday to join my family on holiday!”
Manford shot to fame for his role as team captain on Channel 4 favourite 8 Out of 10 Cats, from 2007 until 2010.
The Mancunian star has presented programmes such as The One Show in 2010, Bigheads in 2017, Children in Need and Starstruck in 2022. He has also enjoyed a stage career in London’s West End, appearing in productions such as The Wizard of Oz, Guys and Dolls, Sweeney Todd, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
