Mark Steel spoke to the ECHO in an exclusive interview about his rollercoaster journey since he was diagnosed with throat cancer
Mark Steel spoke to the ECHO in an exclusive interview ahead of his new show coming to the Liverpool Playhouse on September 11
It was the summer of 2023 when Mark Steel first noticed something wrong. The 65-year-old comedian, renowned for his self-titled BBC Radio 4 series and appearances on panel shows such as Mock the Week, was shaving when he spotted a solid lump on the side of the neck.
The stand-up initially wasn’t alarmed and thought it was just one of those things that happened to your body as you were getting older. However, he later discovered it was actually throat cancer and he needed to undergo chemotherapy. He told the ECHO in an exclusive interview: “The next year was quite an amazing journey which had its dark moments, but it was also one of the funniest times.
“There were moments when I couldn’t speak, when I had to feed myself directly through a tube into my stomach, when I was coughing through the night. And yet, through all of that, there wasn’t a single day when something ridiculously funny didn’t happen.”
Mark is now cancer-free and has channelled his experiences into a new tour show, The Leopard in My House, which is coming to the Liverpool Playhouse on September 11.
Mark’s trade is using his voice to make people laugh so revisiting a time when he lost the ability to talk, as so happened during his treatment, may have been difficult to confront. However, the comedian hailed the advice of the medical professionals who reassured him at each step of the way, so he felt confident he would be able to return to the stage.
Mark also said it was heartening to revisit the time, as the response from people during his low moments showed off the best of humanity. In his interview with the ECHO, the comic revealed one of the people who reached out was legendary Liverpool comedian Jimmy Tarbuck, who contacted his agent in order to get Mark’s details.
He said: “It was the day before my voice absolutely conked out. I had to go up to the hospital for my treatment that day and the phone rang.
“A voice said it was Jimmy Tarbuck and I thought it was a joke. He told me, ‘I can see why you might think it’s a joke, but I thought I’d give you a ring. I read you weren’t well, but I wanted to say hello and make sure you were alright.’ He chatted to me for about 40 minutes all the way to the hospital. I couldn’t say anything because I had no voice.
“When my generation of comics started, Jimmy Tarbuck was the enemy. All these years I’ve thought, ‘Oh blimey, people like that’.” However, Mark’s opinion had completely changed during the course of his taxi journey to the hospital after the 85-year-old’s gesture.
He said: “In fact, he was the nicest sweetest most generous [guy], what a lovely thing to do. In a way, it was a little symbol of how I came to think about people. I was always fairly positive about people, but I can’t think of anyone over the last period of two years that I can’t be positive about.”
Jimmy Tarbuck(Image: PA)
Mark explained how his cancer battle was also ripe for comedy as it showed people’s ability to retain a sense of humour in the lowest moments. He shared hilarious conversations he had on the ward with fellow patients, as one, who was a market trader, joked: “The things we do to get off work.”
Mark added: “Sometimes people think comics are these special people who manage to make a joke out of the most difficult things, but I think most people do.” Remaining philosophical about his situation helped Mark get to the other side as he issued an update on his current condition.
He said: “It might come back but that’s true with anyone, isn’t it? You might get ill. There’s no one that can say 100%, in five years time, I’m going to be healthy. So you’re just like everyone else and all’s I can say is I’m fine at the moment. Then you just live with that. Don’t just sit in a corner of a room panicking.”
On the other side of his cancer journey, Mark is now looking forward to being back on the road with his tour and particularly can’t wait to return to Merseyside in just over a week’s time. He said: “I’ll come to Liverpool, it will be great fun and lovely. There’s certain places in England that are almost like little states by themselves. Newcastle is a bit like that, Cornwall, the Forest of Dean, but, most of all, Liverpool. In Liverpool, you’re Liverpool before you’re English.”
Mark has been a comic since the early 1980s and has visited Merseyside on many occasions during his career. He recalls an encounter at a famous Birkenhead bar called Moodz after recording his “In Town” series as one of the most memorable.
He said: “I don’t mean to be disparaging at all, but there was a woman of a certain age. She was on the table dancing to Come on Eilieen. There was a bloke stood at the bar, who was not the prettiest of souls. And he stripped down to his pants. The woman on the table, who must have been 70, got off the table, got behind him and took his pants down, so he was now completely naked dancing to Come On Eileen.”
He laughed: “Not a soul flinched or took the blindest bit of notice. My producer went, ‘Oh my god, it’s only half past seven’. It was such fun.” Mark won over the audience during his gig in Wirral that night when he referenced the bar in Birkenhead. The routine struck a chord with those in attendance and someone sent him a copy of the ECHO a couple of years later when Moodz featured on the front page after a horse was pictured outside of the establishment in 2016.
The famous bar has now since closed so Mark sadly won’t be able to visit the watering hole this time around. However, he is looking forward to coming back to a city he always enjoys performing in as he set his sights high for what comes next, now that he has recovered from throat cancer.
He said: “I’ve got an idea of doing this show in French.” He laughed: “Or, I can be even more ambitious and do this show in Scouse. Learn some Scouse in Duo Lingo.” Mark Steel’s show, The Leopard In My House, arrives at the Liverpool Playhouse on September 11. You can find details on how to get tickets here.