Escape To The Country’s Nicki Chapman breaks down in tears after docs tell her brain tumour has mysteriously disappeared
ESCAPE to the Country star Nicki Chapman broke down in tears after she was told her brain tumour had mysteriously disappeared – while standing in a field of pigs.
The former Pop Idol judge, 55, was diagnosed with a non-malignant brain tumour – which had grown to the size of a small golf ball – but could only have part of it removed in 2019 because it was too dangerous to take it all out.
She was warned that the life-saving surgery posed the risk of permanent loss of speech, sight or movement.
Now Nicki has revealed that she was given the shock, but welcome, news that the growth – which she named Bert – had vanished, just over four months ago while filming the BBC show.
She explained how she was standing in a field when she got the call from her consultant after her yearly scan.
“He rang me with my latest scans, and I was standing in a field and the Escape to the Country crew were moved away,” she said.
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“I knew I was getting the call, so they moved away, and they gave me some privacy.
“And I’m looking at all these pigs.
“The amazing consultant rang me and said ‘the tumour, Nicki, has gone. For the moment it’s disappeared’.”
Nicki, who was speaking on the White Wine Question Time podcast, continued: “I was sobbing. And he was like ‘Nicki, Nicki’. I’m like ‘No, no, no’. I said ‘do we know why?’
“He said ‘no, these things happen’.”
She admitted: “I get a bit teary just thinking about it. And they don’t know why. And obviously I’ve still got to be monitored because these things have habits of changing.
“So we take the good when we can. Always look for the win in every situation.
“So Bert for the moment has gone and in the nicest of ways I hope the ba**ard never comes back.”
Nicki had first realised she was ill while working on the BBC property programme Escape to the Country when she went to do a voice-over and couldn’t remember the name of the executive producer, who she had known for 15 years.
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