Fans Shower First Dates Star Merlin Griffiths With Support Following Hospital Trip

First Dates barman Merlin Griffiths has been flooded with support after sharing a photograph of himself in hospital following complications from bowel cancer.

The TV personality revealed his diagnosis in September of last year and underwent surgery to treat the disease in April, Sky News reports.

Today, he has shared a photograph of himself in hospital captioned: "Oh... Squibwibble."

It was followed by the captions #complications, #nhs, and #BowelCancerAwareness.

Fans of the barman were quick to take to the comments section to support him, with First Dates waiter Grant Urquhart writing alongside a black heart: "Sending love merl [sic]."

"Hope you're feeling better soon Merlin," added a fan.

"Sending love and a speedy recovery," wrote a second.

A third remarked: "Oh no so sorry to see this. Sending a million positive vibes [sic]."

Alongside heart emojis, a fourth fan added: "You got this Merlin."

A fifth complimented his unicorn mask, writing: "But……you win the award for the best mask! [sic]"

"Get well soon!" wrote a sixth fan. "I hope you have a well stocked bar in that room so you can feel at home [sic]."

The TV personality's April operation was to remove his tumour, and he updated fans at the time, writing: "Ready as I'll ever be. Tumour removal time."

He followed this up with a hospital bed selfie that he captioned: "2am. Tubes outta everywhere. Aches and pains. But no tumour [sic]!"

He shared another selfie once he was out of bed, writing: "And breathe. 6 days, start to finish. Now for real #cancer recovery. I've had open laparotomies before and the recovery was 6 weeks in hospital before robotic surgery!! Amazing."

The barman, who won legions of fans for his kind and friendly manner as he spoke to First Dates contestants as they waited to go into the restaurant, thanked the NHS for their work.

He said that the public healthcare system 'literally' saved his life.

Merlin wrote on Twitter: "Now I'm home I'd also like to share that the excellent #cancer care has been jointly provided by MDT's at @OUHospitals & @nhsuhcw.

"Both treating patients with latest gold (standard) pathways for best outcomes. Highly recommended if you need to refer your case.

"Journey is far from over yet. But the path is now clearer than it has been for quite some time. #nhs #BowelCancerAwarenessMonth".

We'd like to take this opportunity to wish Merlin all the best in his continued recovery.