Lucy Davis was supported by her father, comedian Jasper Carrott, as she made her first public appearance since revealing she has incurable cancer.
The Office star, 53, announced earlier this month that she has been diagnosed with stage four breast cancer and said she does not know how long she has left. On Saturday she put on a brave face at the For the Love of Fantasy & Sci-Fi convention at London's ExCeL, where she reunited with her Shaun of the Dead co-star Simon Pegg and the film's director, Edgar Wright.
Davis beamed as she slowly made her way onto the stage, having previously admitted that standing and walking for too long can be hard and that she sometimes needs to use a wheelchair. Backstage, her 81-year-old father Jasper watched proudly through a window as his daughter made her entrance.
Carrott, the comedian known for decades of British stand-up and television work, told the Daily Mail last week that he is hopeful for his daughter's future and has been supporting her in every way possible since her diagnosis.
Fans react to convention appearance
Fans were delighted to see Davis, with many commenting on an Instagram video of her appearance. One wrote: "Love and best wishes to Lucy and massive respect for managing to appear on stage." Another added: "Credit to Lucy for pushing through and doing this. See Jasper there keeping watch. Really feel for them." A further comment said it was "heartbreaking watching Lucy struggling to walk."
During her appearance, Davis called her fans her "second family" as she shared a message about never giving up. She told the crowd: "It's like this whole second family you never knew you had. Everyone is like a community, friendly, supportive of us, but you guys and each other. So I'm quite hopeful about that, to be honest. We need a bit more niceness in the world, and we get it here. So I'm grateful for you guys."
Asked what advice she would give to someone trying to break into the film industry, she said: "Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do or be anything that you want to do or be. We all grow up just with lies from the world telling us that we all have limitations, and none of us do. Our only limitations are the things that we think are limiting us. You can do anything and be anybody, and don't apologise for it."
Emotional response to diagnosis reveal
Davis's convention appearance came just 11 days after she announced her diagnosis. In an Instagram post last week, she wrote that she had "zero idea" her cancer post would receive the attention it did, and said she was still reading through the messages she had received.
She wrote: "OK, so the last two days have been utterly overwhelming, in that I had ZERO idea my cancer post would have the attention it did. Truly, I am in shock. That said… THANK YOU to everyone for the tremendous amount of kindness and support you have sent me. Good grief it was emotional! I am trying to go thru all the comments on my post - and I'll get there! Just give me a bit of time 🙂 Also, to the couple of people who slightly misread the news and commented R.I.P., you'll be delighted to know I am still alive, hurrah!"
She shared the post alongside a video of herself being taught to skateboard by Malachi Barton, her co-star in the 2023 US comedy series The Villains of Valley View. She wrote: "So, to lighten things up, here's a video of my first (and last) skateboarding lesson, from @malachibarton. It was a few years ago but still something that cracks me up when I realise I have no sporting ability whatsoever."
Lucy Davis's health history
Davis has faced a number of health issues over the years. She had a kidney transplant in 1997 using an organ donated by her mother, Hazel. Eight years later, Davis, who is diabetic, required hospital treatment for kidney failure but went on to make a full recovery.
She has also spoken openly about living with bulimia, which was at its worst during her divorce in 2011 following a five-year marriage to Owain Yeoman, known for his role in The Mentalist.
In her original post revealing the diagnosis, Davis said she first discovered a "tiny, hard spot" in her breast a year ago and had nearly ignored it before seeing a doctor. She said that despite the cancer being declared incurable, she is at peace with whatever comes next.
