Former Grange Hill actor Lee MacDonald has revealed he has skin cancer.
The actor, 56, announced that he went to the doctor concerned about an “unusual” spot on his face, but was told it was cancerous.
Viewers know Lee best as teenage alter ego Zammo, whose hard-hitting stories broke the boundaries of television in mid-1980s Grange Hill.
Lee wrote: ‘I went to the doctor today to check out an unusual spot on my face! The doctor says it’s cancer!
‘As we get older, be wary of anything unusual and hopefully get it checked soon! We’ve booked an appointment to sort it out in the next few days!’
Fans took to the comments section to share their well wishes.
Former EastEnders star Lee MacDonald has revealed he has skin cancer. The actor, 56, went to the doctor concerned about an “unusual” spot on his face, only to discover it was cancerous.
Viewers know Lee best as teenage alter ego Zammo, whose hard-hitting stories broke television boundaries in the mid-1980s Grange Hill (pictured right with Tim Polley and Melissa Wilks).
Lee, who played bus driver Terry in the BBC soap in 2019, wrote: ‘Went to the doctor today to check an unusual spot on my face! The doctor says it’s cancer!
They wrote, “Glad you reviewed it; we hope for a speedy resolution” and “Thank you for highlighting this Lee.” Good luck over the next few days!’
‘I hope everything goes well Lee. Glad you checked early!’
Lee’s Grange Hill character, Samuel Maguire, was affectionately known as the cheeky and cheerful Zammo, who attended the fictional north London school between 1982 and 1987.
The actor appeared in the show’s most famous, albeit controversial, storyline when Zammo spiraled into heroin addiction, culminating in an overdose scene.
Despite the surprise factor, Lee and his cast members helped spearhead the Just Say No anti-drug campaign, releasing a charity single that reached the Top 10.
However, speaking in 2007, Lee said he subsequently had difficulty getting work as an actor in his teens due to his negative association with drugs.
“After (the new series) came out, my agent said, ‘No one wants you anymore because it’s a drug character.’ So no one wants to use you,” he told fan site Grange Hill Gold.
Lee became a locksmith and opened his own shop before returning to the soap world in 2019 as bus driver Terry in EastEnders (pictured in 2018).
Throwback: Lee played Zammo in Phil Redmond’s children’s drama Grange Hill for six years in the ’80s.
Fans took to the comments section to share their well wishes.
“I lost a lot of work because adults didn’t want me to go to the club because it was drug-related. But that’s the power of TV… Even more so in the ’80s, when there were only a couple of channels.”
“They used to take things much more seriously than they do now. There are so many things that kids see now that are scandalous.”
He has revealed that he has a real-life addiction: smoking. He only started smoking when he was 40 and her ex-wife wanted to quit, telling her that he was “tenacious”, so he would start smoking with her and then they would quit together, but he couldn’t.
After leaving Grange Hill in 1987, he planned to turn his hobby of boxing into a career. He had already represented London and planned to turn professional after being offered a contract.
But at the age of 21 he was involved in a serious car accident while in his father’s truck. The van was hit by a car being pursued by police at 90mph, sending Lee through the windshield and leaving him with serious head injuries.
They told him he couldn’t box again. A family friend managed to get him a job working for a wholesaler and he landed some small acting roles in The Bill, Birds Of A Feather and Neighbours.
He admitted in a 2019 interview with The Guardian although “the ’90s weren’t brilliant because I didn’t know where I was or what I wanted to do.”
“I was working in this warehouse and the radio was saying that (her Grange Hill co-star) John Alford had just heard London’s Burning, and I thought, ‘I already had it and now John has it again.'”
Lee married his girlfriend of ten years Jess in 2022 and shared the news on Twitter.
Earlier this month, an emotional Lee wrote alongside a photo with Jess: “Just say yes!” Glad she did it! “I’m getting married to this beautiful lady at the end of this month xxx.”
Lee became a locksmith and opened his own shop in Surrey in 2000 before returning to the soap world in 2019 as bus driver Terry in EastEnders.
Lee married his girlfriend of ten years Jess in 2022 and shared the news on Twitter with the words: “Finally got married xxx.”
The couple got engaged in March 2020 but had to delay the wedding due to Covid.
Posting a photo of him and Jess posing with her engagement ring, Lee excitedly tweeted at the time: ‘My partner Jess ‘JUST SAID YES’! The next wedding.
Lee’s son, Harry, 16, acted as his best man. He is also stepfather to Jess’s daughter Katie, also 16.
They got engaged in March 2020 but had to delay the wedding due to Covid
Lee’s son, Harry, 16, acted as his best man.
