Former X Factor judge Louis Walsh revealed he was diagnosed with a ‘rare’ form of blood cancer during the Covid pandemic on Friday’s episode (March 15) of Celebrity Big Brother.

During a conversation on the reality TV show, the 71-year-old told former Love Island winner Ekin-Su Culculoglu and Dragons’ Den star Levi Roots that “no one knew he was sick” as the housemates discussed how they spent their time during lockdown.

Louis said he had been “shocked” to learn he had Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia - a slow-growing and rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that hits the white blood cells, according to Cancer Research UK.

Louis Walsh said 'rare' blood cancer diagnosis was a 'reality check'

Describing how he spent his time, Louis said: “I was sick, and I think nobody knew I was sick”.

Ekin-Su asked if he had Covid, and Louis responded: “No, I had cancer – a mild version, a Waldenstrom, a rare one”.

Levi asked: “Which part? Pancreatic cancer?”

Louis responded: “In my blood, I didn’t even know that I had it until I went to the hospital, and they checked me, checked me, checked me, then they found it.

“They said it’s a rare one.”

He told the celebrities it affected him mentally, and gesturing to his head, explained: “It’s just up here, even when I go past a hospital I almost get sick.

“It’s all gone, I’m fine. It was just the shock of being sick and that word – nobody wants that word.

“I have it blocked out, it’s just a reality check, you see so many people sick and it’s terrible.

“In my world it was all about pop music and all that. I didn’t think of anybody getting sick or anything like that, and that was like wow, reality check, you’re in the real world.”

Recommended reading:

Who was evicted from Celebrity Big Brother last night?

The first double eviction on Celebrity Big Brother took place last night, seeing both Levi and Ekin-Su become the latest famous faces to leave.

On Thursday (March 14), Ekin-Su nominated Louis to be kicked out of the house.

But after her departure on Celebrity Big Brother Late and Live with hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best, Ekin-Su said it was the thing she regretted most during her time on the show, adding that she wanted him to win.

Celebrity Big Brother continues on Sunday, March 16 on ITV1 and ITVX at 9pm.

If you have been affected by the topic discussed in this article, please visit Cancer Research UK for advice and information.