Star Of Harry Potter Movies Julie Walters Reveals Shock Of Stage-3 Bowel Cancer Diagnosis

Mamma Mia and Harry Potter star Julie Walters just opened up about the moment she found out she had bowel cancer.

The actress, 69, explained that, while she’s currently in the clear, the disease has given her a new perspective on life and her career. She revealed to BBC that she was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer 18 months ago. Walters states that doctors found an abnormality in her intestine following a CT scan.

She received the devastating news while she was filming the upcoming film, The Secret Garden, from which she later had to be cut from several scenes.

“I was still thinking, ‘That’s ridiculous, he must have made a mistake’. I couldn’t believe it,” Walters said of hearing the diagnosis.

However, her doctors had high hopes she could get better again and beat the illness. Walters also remember the moment she told her husband, Grant Roffey, the devastating news.

“That was a moment I’ll never forget. Tears came into his eyes,” she said.

The actress underwent surgery where she had nearly a foot of her colon removed and also went through chemotherapy. Julie Walters is now doing “really well,” sharing that she “just had a scan and I know that I’m clear.”

But, even though she managed to beat cancer, it has changed her life. Now she wants to take things slowly and enjoy life without thinking about work or acting.

This doesn’t mean that she’s cutting out acting completely, but just taking a break.

“I certainly don’t think I can go back to working]six days a week, five in the morning till seven o’clock at night.”