Actress Lynda Bellingham has been diagnosed with cancer and has had to call off a major theatre tour which would have brought her to Bradford.

Lynda is known for her work on TV’s Loose Women, for her role as the Oxo mum in the 1980s commercials, and for her many TV and theatre performances.

She was to have toured this autumn in A Passionate Woman and would have been at Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre in November. The tour has now been postponed.

Lynda said: “I’m devastated not to be able to honour my commitments to do the play this year, but having toured many times before, I’m aware of the sheer stamina needed, and I need to prioritise my recovery.

“That said, nothing’s going to stop me coming back next year, and I can’t wait to be ‘a passionate woman’.”

Lynda has been advised that due to medical treatment it would not be possible for her to commit to this current national tour . But she will return to the production next year.

Daniel Evans, Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, which is co-producing the show said: “A Passionate Woman is an extraordinary play about an extraordinary woman, and that woman is Lynda Bellingham. She is the heart of this production, and it’s inconceivable that we would do it without her.

“Our priority is to Lynda and her health, and we look forward to welcoming her back soon.”