Leyla/David/Alicia/Justin

[Telly Watcher]

Emmerdale's Matthew Wolfenden has revealed that he'll be losing his hair for David Metcalfe's testicular cancer storyline.

Emotional scenes next week will see David learn that he does have cancer following an anxious wait for his test results, leaving him shellshocked as he faces up to a tough battle ahead.

Behind the scenes, Wolfenden and the Emmerdale team have been preparing for the soap plot since late last year - which has included discussions on him changing his appearance.

"I got called into make up to talk about how I feel about it," Wolfenden explained. "I will lose everything - the whole hog and do it properly. It will be the full works - eyebrows off, beard off, hair off.

"I didn't want to go half hearted with it, because that is not fair when there's people out there that have suffered with it properly and I am just pretending. As an actor you pretend everything, so it's one thing I have to do properly."


© ITV
Dr Bailey tells David that his ultrasound came back clear

Wolfenden will also be teaming up with ITV daytime show Lorraine to encourage men to check themselves for testicular cancer.

"Lorraine are doing a 'Check your Chaps' campaign. They did it last year as well," Wolfenden said. "It is coincidental that this storyline coincided with them doing their campaign about prostate and testicular cancer.

"They have asked me to be involved. I am going to go visit some patients and talk to people in the cast. They want to do some live link-ups to me talking to some of the young cast members to see if they check themselves.

"We want to get it out there that between early 20s and mid 30s is the time you never think anything will be wrong, but in terms of testicular cancer it's the time you should be checking yourself."


© ITV
Leyla is concerned that David hasn't told Jacob about his operation

The actor added that he's looking forward to seeing how Emmerdale fans react to seeing his comedy character involved in a more serious storyline.

"It's nice to have something that is really big in terms of storyline and not just 'David gets drunk and falls over' which a lot of the time I was getting," he admitted. "The good thing about this is that they don't want to lose that through the storyline.

"The one big thing that [Emmerdale producer] Iain MacLeod and [Emmerdale's former producer] Kate Oates have said is they have had friends with cancer, and you don't just go off and sit in a dark room until you are well and feel sorry for yourself. You get on with life and that is how they want to play it.

"David doesn't lose any of that personality. He is still daft, but he has got cancer and the writing so far has kept that vein running through. He has kept his humour and his daftness. But you do see him sat on his own at night when no-one is round. You do see that kind of fragility - he is actually s**t scared basically."

By Daniel Kilkelly, Digital Spy
http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/emme...-cancer-story/

[Telly Watcher]

Matthew Wolfenden will shave his head as David Metcalfe is diagnosed with cancer.

There are extremely difficult times ahead for David Metcalfe as Matthew Wolfenden has confirmed that his character will be diagnosed with testicular cancer in a hard hitting new storyline.

With doctors having found a lump, David attends an appointment with Dr Bailey – interrupting a liaison that he is having with Belle Dingle. The flustered GP finds David’s test results – or what he thinks are his – and tells him that he has the all clear. But later on, he realises that in his panic, he gave the wrong results.

While David is out drinking celebrating his good news, he gets the visit from Dr Bailey who is forced to retract the clean bill of health and tell him that he has cancer.

As a nightmare journey kicks off for poor David, we caught up with Matthew Wolfenden who revealed the next steps for him, the fact that the new producer Iain MacLeod has made changes and that he will shave his head to ensure the plot is authentic.

Tell us about when you first learned of David’s cancer story

Just before Kate [Oates] left, she said ‘I have this massive storyline for you’, they had thought of doing a testicular cancer story with one of the younger characters, Zak suffered from it, but you are looking at it from a different angle. They decided David was a good one to play it out with, it was a nice parting shot really from Kate to give me this which is going to take me into the beginning of next year. It is going to be good.

Have you any real life experience of anything like this?

No, I haven’t. What Kate wanted to highlight was that young guys – well, not THAT young any more – but guys in their early 20s to mid 30s,which is when it is quite prevalent, should check themselves and it is not something I have ever done, but I definitely will from now on. It has never happened to me, but it has highlighted the fact that, I don’t think lads really check themselves or think it is them it will happen to. I have had friends that have had testicular cancer and had a testicle removed and it has been quite interesting to talk to them about doing this storyline. If it highlights that it is going to be quite good.

Have you done research into the storyline?

I have talked to a few people and done a lot of Googling, everyone you speak to has been affected by some sort of cancer in some way, whether it is them, family, partners…so there are several people in this building among the crew that have had breast or prostate or testicular cancer who have come up to me and spoken to me about it. From what I have gathered across the board is it affects everyone differently. I wanted somebody to tell me ‘this is how you should play it, you will feel like this or that’ and nobody has said that ‘cos everyone says it’s affected them in different ways.

How the treatments have affected them, people have had radiotherapy or chemo, everyone has a different story, so it has been interesting, but hard for me as an actor to go ‘This is definitely how I am going to play it’ ‘cos nobody has told me exactly how it feels as they have all got their own story.

I can’t get it wrong. I think I have only got half the battle, the writing has been so brilliant and we are only just at the very beginning of it, the writers and storyliners have got the hardest job doing all the research on it, as long as I have done my own research the two come together and we should get it right, I hope we do.

How does he feel when he gets the diagnosis?

What happens, the way that this kind of played out is different from the way that Kate left it when she left and she said it will be a testicular cancer storyline. When Iain came in he put a little twist on it which I thought was very clever, it coincides with Dr Bailey and Belle’s affair. Dr Bailey who gives David the results, is having a bit of an affair with Belle and he’s a married man and he is having this kind of little dalliance with her, now what happens is, when he goes to pick his test results up to see if it is cancer or if it is just a lump, he is in the room with Belle having a bit of nookie on his desk!

Belle has pushed his papers to the side and knocked some on the floor, David comes and knocks on the door, Dr Bailey craps himself cos he is stuck in this room with Belle, hides her behind the curtain and says ‘Come in.’ He wants to get rid of David as fast as possible, he picks his papers off the floor, finds the one that he thinks is David’s test results and he says ‘you are all clear, you are fine, it is just a little lump, we might still have to take it off, it is absolutely fine’ – he is trying to get David out of the office.

David leaves and goes to celebrate in the pub with Jacob and his dad and Leyla and saying ‘I am all clear, everything’s fine’ and then it goes back to Dr Bailey finding the correct paper and it is saying it is actually cancer. He told him he is all clear and he is not, he goes to see David while he is as high as a kite and a bit drunk and he sits him down and says, ‘I have made a mistake and it is a bad one, I am sorry, you have got cancer.’

That is the little twist Iain put in, he got the wrong results. It is quite clever as you see David going from there back down to rock bottom and at the end, it is him, Leyla and Pollard coming to find him, him sat on the stairs crying, saying ‘I have got cancer.’

I don’t think a producer can ever meddle too much it is their perogative, a new producer has got to have their own ideas and put their stamp on it, the fact that a lot of the stories are what Kate has put in place, he has got to put his ideas onto them, little tweaks and a fresh pair of eyes sometimes comes up with little gems like this – the audience think he has got the all clear. He has done that with, you have got to put your stamp on things, I think I would. He has been great so far, brilliant.

What are you expecting in terms of fan reaction?

I think because of my character being one of the more not daft, but humorous characters, it is nice to have something that is really big in terms of storyline and not just ‘David gets drunk and falls over’, which is a lot of the time I was getting. The good thing about this with David who is a cheeky chap and a funny character is that they do not want to lose that through the storyline. The one big thing Iain and Kate said is they have had friends with cancer, you don’t just go off and sit in a dark room until you are well and feel sorry for yourself, you get on with life and that is how they want to play it, he doesn’t lose any of that personality, he is still daft, but he has got cancer and the writing so far has kept that vein running through. He has kept his humour and his daftness – you do see him sat on his own at night when no-one is round, you do see that kind of fragility too, he is actually **** scared basically.

There is a Lorraine show on doing a Check your Chaps thing. They did it last year as well. It is coincidental that this, I think it was, this coincided with them doing their thing about prostate and testicular cancer. They have asked me to be involved, I am going to go visit some patients, talk to people in the cast they want to do some live link ups to me talking to some of the young cast members, see if they check themselves and get it out there that between early 20s and mid 30s is the time you never think anything will be wrong but in terms of testicular cancer it is the time you should be checking yourself.

Will you lose your hair?

I got called into make up to talk about how I feel about it, I will lose everything, the whole hog and do it properly, so it will be the full works, eyebrows off, beard off, hair off. I didn’t want to go half hearted with it, because that is not fair when there’s people out there that have suffered with it properly and I am just pretending, as an actor you pretend everything, it is one thing I have to do properly. I am going to go for it properly.

By Duncan Lindsay for Metro.co.uk
http://metro.co.uk/2016/04/05/emmerd...ancer-5793290/

[tammyy2j]

Alicia would return to support David and Jake

[Perdita]

Alicia would return to support David and Jake

Sadly parents/spouses, loved ones won´t return once the actor has decided to leave the show and the character has been written out

[Perdita]

Emmerdale is in the clear with Ofcom again - this time after complaints over David Metcalfe's naked bum.

Fans saw Matthew Wolfenden strip off for a recent scene as David, but it seems it didn't go down too well with everyone as 7 viewers made complaints to the broadcasting watchdog over the partial on-screen nudity.

The episode in question aired on March 30 and saw David drop his trousers when his friend Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi) helped him to take a photograph of his testicles.

Leyla stepped in to help after David confided in her about suffering a testicular cancer scare.



Digital Spy can confirm that the small number of complaints have now been rejected without an official investigation, as Ofcom noted that there was no sexual element to the scenes.

An Ofcom spokesperson told us: "We assessed a small number of complaints about nudity in this soap, but won't be taking the matter forward to investigation.

"We took into account that the brief scene did not involve a sexual context. We concluded that it was unlikely to have exceeded viewer expectations for this programme."

David's storyline continues on screen this week as he receives the bad news that he does have cancer when his test results come through.

Wolfenden has revealed that he'll be shaving his hair, eyebrows and beard for the storyline - as well as fronting a 'Check Your Chaps' campaign for ITV's Lorraine to help raise awareness of testicular cancer.

Emmerdale has been cleared by Ofcom following complaints over other storylines in recent months too, including Aaron Livesy's child sex abuse plot and last year's helicopter crash disaster.

[Telly Watcher]

Emmerdale actor Matthew Wolfenden will shave his head to film scenes for a shocking storyline.

Tonight his character gets the devastating diagnosis that he has testicular cancer. And Matthew has vowed to use the soap drama to get more men checking their tackle.

The 35-year-old, who plays cheeky hunk David Metcalfe in the ITV soap, is determined to do the story justice by making it as believable as possible. “I’m about to shave my head and lose my eyebrows, eyelashes – everything,” he reveals.

“I’ve always had facial hair so it will be a first for me. But as soon as I heard about the storyline I said I would throw myself into it in every way to do it justice for the lads that have been through it.”

Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged 29 to 49 in the UK, but, as Matthew found out, not one which is often discussed. He explains: “Lets face it, men don’t want to drop their trousers for a doctor, they feel embarrassed.

“There’s a bit of bravado, I suppose, and it’s not something you want to chat to your mates about down the pub. Admitting that there’s something wrong with the most masculine part of your body is hard. But your mid-20s and 30s is the time to raise awareness and make it normal to discuss it.”

“If I can help save one person I will have done my job properly”
Matthew Wolfenden

Viewers were stunned when David was told by doctor Jermaine Bailey that they’d need to investigate a lump down below. In typical style, he cheekily dropped his pants for good pal Leyla (played by Roxy Shahidi) to have a look. And tonight David revisits Dr Bailey for his emotional diagnosis.

But it does not all go to plan. Matthew explains: “He gets called into the doctor’s room at the same time Dr Bailey and Belle, who’ve been getting close, are in the middle of having a snog. Flustered, Dr Bailey knocks a pile of papers and files off his desk. So, of course, when David comes in he mistakenly gives David the wrong results, telling him he’s all clear.

“So he leaves happy. He’s high as a kite that nothing’s wrong. He heads over to the shop to pick up some Champagne and wants to tell Pollard and Leyla the good news.”

But Dr Bailey pops over to tell him of his mistake and break the bad news. Matthew says: “David goes through a rollercoaster of emotions. He screams and shouts at Dr Bailey and he bursts into tears. He’s in disbelief. It’s hard to understand how you’d feel if you were in that situation.

“At the moment I am filming him finding out that it’s spread to the lymph nodes in his stomach, which means he will need chemo, and that means losing his hair.”

Matthew researched the storyline thoroughly through various cancer charities – meeting men who have suffered from the disease – and by visiting online forums and reading first-hand accounts.

He says: “Playing that is great for me as an actor – to show all these different sides to David. That’s why I was so pleased to meet guys who had been through it.

“One of the first things I asked them was how they reacted when they found out. They said that it was that it didn’t seem real; that this could actually kill you.

“When I was first told of the storyline I vowed to do it properly. I originally went into a meeting with the former producer Kate Oates who’s left now to go to Coronation Street now and she said it was her leaving present to me.

“I’ve been involved in big plot-lines in the past but they’ve usually involved other characters. This one is all on me and I am so pleased to get it but, yeah, it’s a biggie and I want to do it right. It will be the most difficult I’ve done.”

But telling his five-year-old son Buster – who he won ITV game show Big Star’s Little Star with last week – also proved a challenge.

Typically, super cute Buster embarrassed his dad by claiming his dad’s favourite thing was “his willy” on the show.

“One of the things has been explaining what will happen to Buster,” he reveals. “I wanted to explain to him that I would be losing my hair and that Daddy was going to look very different for a while.

“When I first told him he cried. As people will have seen from Big Star’s Little Star, he’s quite trendy and into looking cool. He likes to do his hair and wear hats. One of our assistant directors told me a story of her dad having cancer when she was a kid and how she didn’t recognise him so I knew it would affect Buster.

“But we’ve talked a lot about it now so he understands it’s for my job and why.” Matthew admits the storyline and the arrival of his second son Bowie – born earlier this year to wife and fellow Emmerdale star Charley Webb, 28 – have been a wakeup call for him.

He adds: “Since having my second child I have been so aware of my health and I’m taking it more seriously now. Charley and I actually have booked ourselves in for a full health MoT to get ourselves checked because it does really make you think.

“As a young lad you do often take your health for granted and ignore things and hope they go away. I’m so guilty of saying: ‘Ah, I’m fine’ and then Charley nagging me to go to the doctors about something.”

He’s also joined forces with ITV breakfast show Lorraine to launch the Check Your Chaps campaign, which will encourage viewers to check themselves for testicular and prostate cancer.

It will also see Matthew meeting other young men going through treatment and hearing their stories. He says: “One of those guys had his testicle removed and went through chemotherapy. It’s really opened my eyes to the issue.

"Another young bloke I met knew for a year that something wasn’t right but didn’t go to the doctors. You do go through a sort of denial and hope it will go away.

“Which is why I’m so proud to be doing this storyline. I know cancer has been covered in soaps before but not often by younger men in this way. If I can help save one person I will have done my job properly.”

By Jennifer Dunkerley, Daily Star
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz-t...king-storyline

Emmerdale airs these scenes from Monday 11 April at 7pm on ITV.

[Telly Watcher]

Matthew Wolfenden answers viewer's questions[?] for Check Your Chaps for ITV's Lorraine Kelly as only he can over a bowl of Kelly's Brekkie Briefs! Haha!

"60 Second Cereal: Matthew Wolfenden", 1m 27s
http://www.itv.com/lorraine/showbiz/...thew-wolfenden

Twitter:
#CheckYourChaps
https://twitter.com/hashtag/checkyourchaps

[Perdita]

Emmerdale's crew members have vowed to shave their heads in solidarity with Matthew Wolfenden as he explores an on-screen cancer storyline.

The actor will soon be losing his hair, beard and eyebrows following the on-screen revelation that his character David Metcalfe has testicular cancer.

Emmerdale's team are known for being a tight-knit bunch, so now Wolfenden's colleagues behind the cameras are showing their support by following suit.

"Next week I have got to shave all my hair off, all my eyebrows and my beard due to the chemotherapy storyline that I'm having," Wolfenden told ITV's Lorraine today (April 14).

"The crew have said, in solidarity with David, they are also going to shave their heads next week, which is absolutely awesome."

Wolfenden was appearing on Lorraine as part of the 'Check Your Chaps' campaign that he's fronting for the morning show to raise awareness of testicular cancer.

Wolfenden was appearing on Lorraine as part of the 'Check Your Chaps' campaign that he's fronting for the morning show to raise awareness of testicular cancer.

Keen to illustrate the work that needs to be done, Wolfenden brought his co-stars Kelvin Fletcher, Anthony Quinlan, Jeff Hordley, Joe Gill and Natalie J Robb on board to test their knowledge - and you can see how they got on by hitting play on the video above.

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/emme...-cancer-story/

Keen to illustrate the work that needs to be done, Wolfenden brought his co-stars Kelvin Fletcher, Anthony Quinlan, Jeff Hordley, Joe Gill and Natalie J Robb on board to test their knowledge - and you can see how they got on by hitting play on the video above.

[Perdita]

Emmerdale star Matthew Wolfenden has praised his character David Metcalfe's cancer storyline for its humour.

David's life was turned upside down earlier this month when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and he will undergo life-changing surgery this week.

The actor has teamed up with ITV daytime show Lorraine to encourage men to check themselves for testicular cancer, and has previously promised that David won't lose his lively personality throughout the plot.

Reiterating this, Wolfeneden told The Mirror: "When you have cancer you don't lose your personality, you don't lose your humour.

Jacob is pleased to see David back at the shop
© ITV

"From Day One, when David dropped his trousers and tried to take pictures of his balls, I got tweets from so many people who had had cancer, or had friends who had had testicular cancer who said it was fantastic.

"They liked how it was funny, but tender and emotional at the same time. It is about getting the tone right.

"You will see David break down and be poorly, sat on his own, crying, upset and with no hair and feeling really ill from the chemo, but it is nice to keep the lighter side of him too."

[Telly Watcher]

Many thanks to Sophie Dainty at Digital Spy, 28 April 2016.
http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/emme...d-cancer-plot/

Lorraine on ITV [11 April 2016] launched Check Your Chaps and fronting this year's campaign is Emmerdale's Matthew Wolfenden and actress Gemma Oaten. Check Your Chaps is an initiative aimed at raising awareness of testicular and prostate cancer - two of the most common cancers in men.

We're encouraging viewers up and down the country to check their "chaps" regularly for early signs of these cancers, whilst dispelling embarrassment in the hope of saving countless lives.

Following the success of last year's campaign, Matthew was keen to support Check Your Chaps as his character in Emmerdale, David Metcalfe, will be diagnosed with testicular cancer the same week the campaign launches.

"I wanted to get involved with Check Your Chaps as it's a great way to raise awareness of testicular and prostate cancer - two common cancers for men. Also, I am getting to know more about testicular cancer as my character in Emmerdale will discover he has the illness, ” David told Lorraine.

He continued: "As well as raising awareness about these cancers, the campaign informs men and their partners of the common signs and symptoms to look out for and what action to take if they are concerned."

@drhilaryjones + @mrmattwolfenden have checked their chaps, now it's your turn! Here's how: https://t.co/jofwvs9DW8
09:49 - 11 April 2016

During the first week of the campaign, Matthew will be meeting men who have had testicular cancer and provide advice on what to look out for.

The second week will focus on prostate cancer and actress Gemma Oaten will front that section of the campaign, drawing on her own personal experience following her father's diagnosis.

“I have seen firsthand the effects that prostate cancer can have as my dad had an aggressive form of the disease.," she told Lorraine. "The doctor said if it wasn't for mum insisting he get checked so soon he may not be here today, he was so lucky. I really am delighted to be a part of this campaign as it's so important for men and their partners to know what signs and symptoms to look out for.”

Testicular cancer

More than 2,200 men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer in the UK each year. It most commonly affects men between the ages of 15-45 and is statistically the most common cancer in men aged between 25-49 in the UK. Symptoms include a painless lump or swelling and discomfort in the testicles.
Facts

Prostate cancer

Every year over 44,000 men in the UK will be diagnosed with prostate cancer - that's more than 120 men every day! Every hour one man dies from prostate cancer – that's more than 10,500 men every year. It is the most common cancer in men in the UK and is estimated 1 in 8 men will develop the disease during their lifetime. These numbers are likely to increase dramatically over the next 5-10 years. Symptoms include needing to urinate more often and a weak flow.

Check Your Chaps is supported by Prostate Cancer UK and male cancer charity Orchid.

By ITV at:
http://www.itv.com/lorraine/health/c...our-chaps-2016