Ireland AM star Alan Hughes reveals cancer scare prompted him to undergo tests in hospital

But the Ireland AM favourite assures fans all is well with him health-wise after he sparked concern when he posted an online picture of him in a hospital gown.

Alan admits he was “inundated” with well-wishes from not only viewers but also some well-known celebrities who reached out to him.

He reveals that his hospital check-up came as a result of a cancer scare – the killer disease which led to the deaths of his brother and sister in recent years.

“A few things came up on blood tests and I had to go in for some procedures and everything seems fine.

“Well not the total all clear, but they put my mind at ease,” he confirms. “Given my brother and sister both died from cancer, I do always have the worry.

“When I hear the word, I shudder. I think I have become a bit of a hypochondriac and I’m keen to get everything checked out.

“I’ve to go and do more bloods in a couple of months’ time but at the moment everything is okay, but it always is a worry.”

He confesses there were several triggers which sparked him seeking medical advice.

“I wasn’t feeling well and I was going; ‘there’s definitely something here you know’. I had stomach problems and things like that, because I’ve had ulcers and I have a hiatus hernia. So, I’m always very careful about that.

“Luckily and thankfully, I’m on it because of the history of the family. it’s always coming up to this time of year because I need to be in the best of health coming into panto, because it’s draining.

Alan admits he wants to be extra careful given his family history, with his sister dying from ovarian cancer in 2012 and his brother from lung cancer in 2017.

“My poor sister Doireann got cancer and battled it from the age of 50, she had different types of cancers over the years- and she about 60 or 61 when she died. My brother David was also in his 60s when he died from cancer too. Not old,” he points out.

Alan concedes he was taken aback by the amount of concerned people who contacted him.

“It’s gas, you put a little thing up and you get hundreds of messages, just so many people and so many well-known people getting in touch with you that you don’t realise follow you on Instagram or follow you on TV,” he reflects.

“It’s so funny that you never think of that when you are just doing your job that so many well-known people are at home watching you every morning as well and going ‘are you alright?’

“It’s mad. Lots of surprise DMs coming to me and I was going ‘I’m grand’. Everything is grand touch wood. You just realise that after over 20 years working on the show people do actually feel an attachment to you, like they’re saying prayers and lighting candles, and I’m telling them not to be too dramatic.”

Asked why he posted the image, he laughs: “It was more of a cheeky little thing where I said ‘do you like my sexy gown’ and I wasn’t even thinking about putting it out there like that, it was more ‘look at my sexy little hospital gown’ ".

Alan returned to his TV show in recent days and is now gearing up for his Snow White pantomime in the lead up to Christmas and beyond.

"There’s myself as Sammy Sausages with Buggy, Katherine Lynch is playing the evil queen and she’s great,” he notes.

“We have a big announcement coming up in the next few days, and we still have to reveal who plays Snow White, the fairy, and other great characters,” he beams.

See www.panto.ie for tickets.