Actor had brain tumour the size of a lime

Craig Russell had a brain tumour for 15 years

In 2022 Craig Russell was enjoying life as a successful actor with a big budget Netflix production about to come out.

But regular severe headaches and increasing episodes of forgetfulness left him feeling something was wrong.

Prompted by his wife to go to the doctor, an MRI scan revealed a brain tumour "the size of a lime".

After a successful operation in March, Mr Russell, 46, says he now feels "fitter than ever" and is "the luckiest man alive".

Craig Russell played Marc Anthony in the Netflix series Queen Cleopatra

The actor, from Falmouth, Cornwall, had spent much of 2022 filming in Morocco for the role of Marc Anthony in the Netflix series of Queen Cleopatra - executive produced by Hollywood star Jada Pinkett Smith.

He had previously appeared in several television shows as a jobbing actor - from Hollyoaks to Doctors and EastEnders.

At the beginning of 2023, Mr Russell was experiencing "strange headaches" and "doing weird things like getting lost locally".

A visit to the GP led to an MRI scan, which revealed a brain tumour that "had been growing there for 15 years".

A brain scan showed a tumour "the size of lime"

Mr Russell said the news was incredibly tough to bear for him, his wife Kate and their two boys.

He said: "To begin with I had a wobble - it was those words, a brain tumour.

"I remember going home to Kate and tearing up a little bit and Kate who was, is and always has been the most amazing support, said 'It'll be alright, we'll get through this'.

"I decided there and then that it wouldn't be a problem, it wouldn't affect anyone, it was all going to be ok.

"But of course that isn't what happens when a husband and a father and someone you rely on suddenly has some sort of potentially life-changing illness.

"It certainly feels as if the rug has been pulled from under you."

Mr Russell met with Sam Muquit, consultant neurosurgeon at Derriford Hospital, on 3 March, who told him about the serious and life-threatening risks associated with brain surgery.

Mr Muquit and his team successfully removed the benign tumour in a gruelling six-and-a-half hour operation on 6 March.

The operation to remove the brain tumour took six-and-a-half hours

Mr Russell said: "I got away with it. It was a bullet dodged."

He said: "To be honest, I had the easiest time of it. For my wife and my children, my parents and my friends, it was a horrible time.

"To see the effect it has on the people you love most in the world, it's the most sobering thing.

"I'm so lucky because of Kate and the boys and my family and friends, but I'm lucky because we have the NHS and in Derriford we have the most remarkable neurological department - these guys are top of the tree.

"Everyone there in the hospital was just fabulous. Because of them, I'm able to sit here now."

• Listen: Craig Russell describes how forgetfulness left him feeling something was wrong

Mr Russell began his rehabilitation the day after the operation with a physiotherapy session.

He said: "One of the consultants said you just have to do what you can to lead a long, healthy and happy life.

"That's all I've ever wanted to do anyway.

"I always enjoyed the fitness before but I just ramped it all up.

"I started lifting weights again straight away, I started light and started walking 10 miles a day, started running.

"I could only go so far and so fast because obviously I had a new skull fitted that hadn't long been bolted in so I had to take care of that.

"Now I genuinely feel that I'm in the best shape of my life, at 46."

He started physiotherapy the day after his operation

Mr Russell said he felt he had "been given a second chance at life" and now wanted "to do what you can to help others".

He has been working with the Brain Tumour Research charity "to shine a light" on the number of people affected by brain tumours and a lack of funding.

The charity, which funds the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the University of Plymouth, said brain tumours killed more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer.

It said only 1% of the national spend on cancer research had been allocated to brain tumours since records began in 2002.

Mr Russell went back into acting work in July and said he had been constantly busy, with several more projects lined up.

He was thrilled to see his follow-up scan in October come back all clear.

The actor said: "I genuinely do feel like the luckiest man in the world.

"I just feel happy to be able to get back to work so I can provide for my family and take care of them in the way that they took care of me."