The 63-year-old comedian confessed to researching his symptoms online and jumping to conclusions about the worst-case scenarios
Ricky Gervais has spoken about his health woes, explaining that he’s ‘reminded every day’ of his situation. The 63-year-old comedian said everything is ‘sort of slower’ and ‘aches more’, even when just walking downstairs.
Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live this week, he also confessed to Googling his symptoms, often leading him to the worst-case scenario. “Now, this is as good as it will ever be, it’s not like I’ll get better, do you know what I mean?” he said to Jimmy.
“Like they won’t go, ‘Oh, he’s 70 now, he was terrible at 60,’ but this is it… I’m reminded every day that I’m getting older. Everything is just sort of slower, aches more.
“When I get up in the morning, right, when I walk downstairs, it’s like I’ve got false legs. Do you know what I mean? Not like false legs today, bionic – like pirate legs. Stiff. It just hurts.”
He later added: “What happens is I wake up and I go, ‘Oh I’ve got a lump or a pain’ and I go to Jane, ‘What do you think that is?’ She goes, ‘Go to the doctor’ and I go ‘What, do you think it’s serious?’ She goes ‘No, I don’t know’.
“So I Google it, right? Whatever it is… put in the symptoms and the first few are all right. Could be stress, course, could be this, could be diet, and I go, ‘Oh that’s great, that’s great, that’s fine, that’s fine, that’s fine.’ And then I just push my luck and number seven [says] cancer. I go ‘Jane, I’m dying’.”
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Ricky certainly isn’t alone in these habits. Figures suggest that Brits consulted ‘Dr Google’ almost 50 million times in 2022, according to Benenden Health. Although it’s tempting to self-diagnose this way, experts suggest it may lead to an incorrect result while inducing more panic.
In 2023, Cheryl Lythgoe, Matron at Benenden Health, said: “It’s of little surprise to see that physical health is leading the way as one of the most search for health terms, as throughout the COVID-19 pandemic many people have become more conscious of their health. What’s concerning is the apparent reliance on Google for this information, possibly leading to an incorrect self-diagnosis or panic.
“When there’s a long wait for doctor’s appointments it’s easy to get impatient and the ability to self-diagnose via the internet can for some be too tempting. If you are looking for advice online, I would recommend visiting trusted sources such as the NHS website as a first port of call to ensure the advice is from experts and more likely to be accurate.
“However at the first signs of illness, it’s always best to consult a pharmacist or a GP. This will ensure the correct treatment, if necessary, is sought.”
Despite his health fears, Ricky told Jimmy that going to a doctor feels like ‘admin’ and he’ll only do it every 10 years when situations seem especially dire. In fact, he’s previously taken matters into his own hands, once dangerously attempting to remove a skin tag from his eyelid at home.
“You know those skin tags you get? …I had one on my eyelid and it looked f*****, so I cut it off with a pair of nail scissors,” he said. “I was gnawing through it with these little nail scissors, and it was bleeding.
“I came downstairs, [I said], ‘I’m bleeding,’ and [Jane] said, ‘What did you do?’, I said ‘I cut it off’. She went, ‘Are you f***ing mad? You could get sepsis.’ So, I just sort of got loads of Savlon everywhere.”
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