Jedward star suffered terrifying cancer scare during Celebrity Big Brother

John Grimes has revealed he was secretly dealing with a "scary health diagnosis" during his time in the 2017 season of Celebrity . The 33-year-old singer is one half of pop band Jedward - which he is part of alongside his twin brother, Edward.

appeared on twice - first appearing on the eighth season of the show in 2011 before returning for the 'all-stars' style nineteenth season six years later.

Fans will recall that the brothers ended up in third place during their first run on the show - and then were runners up behind when they returned in 2017. But what fans did not know, is that John had been dealing with a concerning health scare.

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Before entering the house, John fell over and injured his back, requiring medical treatment. It was when he was in hospital that doctors told him they thought he could have cancer - and he has admitted this played on his mind the entire time he was in the house.

It wasn't until he exited the reality show home after a month of being inside that he was finally told he did not have cancer - but he says he was anxious about it for the entire time he was on the show the second time. Opening up to about his ordeal, John said: "Another thing that didn’t air is that when we were entering the house, I fell off the stage. I hit my back and had to go to hospital for tests. At the time, they gave me a scary diagnosis that I could have cancer... I went through the experience thinking I was going to die."

While viewers were oblivious to the health scare, John was shown downplaying the incident that sent him on his short trip to the hospital. He said in the Diary Room at the time: "Five seconds on the show and I’ve hurt myself!"

And, pointing to his slightly flat hair, he added: "You know it’s a bad day when my hair looks like this! Now I have to go to hospital looking like this." Despite the health scare, the brothers proved to be a hit with fans who loved the chaos that they brought into the show.

However, Jedward have now claimed that producers were hoping for romance to blossom inside the house. Edward said: "We could have had loads of showmances but we didn’t entertain them. There are lots of condoms in there – they have a stash in the bathroom.

"The producers have high hopes they’ll get used. There were hilarious moments. Once, John ran out of underpants, so Bianca Gascoigne gave him her thong."

The 2017 season of the show proved to be explosive thanks to the inclusion of How Clean Is Your House icon Kim Woodburn. She clashed bitterly with eventual winner Coleen Nolan - and the pair later clashed again on .

Kim also raged against Nicola McLean while she was in the house - with security intervening at one point as tensions hit boiling point. The show was axed by Channel 5 in 2018 following a series that was won by actor - and which saw soap star 's career come to an end when she complained that Ryan had beaten her and left her terrified in the house.

Footage vindicated Ryan and Roxanne stepped away from the limelight soon after. The show was revived in 2024 by and returns this month - with Chesney Hawkes, Trisha Goddard and Mickey Rourke among the stars rumoured to be taking part.

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