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LUCY DAVIS, WHO played Dawn Tinsley in the UK series The Office, has said that she has “incurable” cancer.

The actress, who played the office receptionist in the BBC sitcom from 2001 to 2003, shared her diagnosis in a statement on her Instagram.

She said she had kept the news to herself for a while “but for various reasons would like to share now”.

“A year and a half ago I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer, which has metastasized to my bones. Specifically to my spine, right hip, and my ribs. The cancer is incurable, and too late for chemo,” she said.

“The initial lump that I felt, wasn’t a ‘lump’ as such; rather a kind of hard spot. Really tiny. I almost didn’t bother getting it checked. So I guess I’m saying don’t ignore anything – get everything checked out.”

Davis said she is “trying to live out whatever might be left of my life in as fun a way as I possibly can”.

“I always like to find the teachable moments in anything negative that happens. And cancer has not disappointed in that regard; there’s a lot I have learned from it, and I’m grateful for that.”

She added: “I’m not scared of whatever comes next. I’m at peace with it. I’ll see my [late dog] Gracie sooner than expected, and for me, leaving my physical body just means going home. Any and all grieving is for my family; it’s far harder for them than for me.”

Davis said she would keep up her animal rights work, which “is so important to me”, and would like to keep working, adding that acting “is one of the biggest joys in my life”.

“For those of you on a similar journey to mine, I do wish you well. Cancer asks a lot from us, physically and mentally. And we all get to do it however we choose.”

Davis shared the statement alongside a video of her in hospital while ringing a bell and reading a poem that is commonly recited when someone finishes cancer treatment.

“Ring this bell three times well. It’s a toll to clearly say my treatments are done, the course is run, and I am on my way,” she said.

The daughter of British comedian Jasper Carrott, Davis began her acting career in the 1990s before her breakthrough role in The Office.

The sitcom followed the lives of office workers at Slough paper merchant Wernham Hogg with co-creator Ricky Gervais at the helm as office manager David Brent alongside stars such as The Hobbit actor Martin Freeman, who played bored salesman Tim Canterbury.

One of the notable storylines throughout the series was Tim and Dawn’s slow-burn office romance.

Davis played Hayley Jordan in the long-running BBC radio drama The Archers and went on to star in the zombie comedy Shaun of the Dead in 2004 and in the live-action Wonder Woman film in 2017.

Most recently, she played Hilda Spellman in the Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina from 2018 to 2020 and Eva, known as the supervillain Surge, on the Disney Channel sitcom The Villains of Valley View in 2022.

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