‘I unknowingly did the Edinburgh Fringe with cancer – then had the best year’


Matt Forde is back at the Edinburgh Fringe following a cancer diagnosis – and he’s had the best year ever (Picture: Matt Stronge)

‘I’m so sorry about your cancer diagnosis. You must’ve had an awful year,’ I say to political comedian and Spitting Image impressionist Matt Forde in a chat ahead of his Edinburgh Fringe 2024 show – The End of an Era.

‘You know, I see it as a brilliant year,’ he says.

Over the next half an hour it becomes clear this optimism is inherent in Matt – an unusual trait for a political comedian, a species of comic known for drowning in their own cynicism.

The 41-year-old was performing at the Fringe last year when he experienced terrible back pain, which he assumed was a slipped disc. He never guessed it would be cancer.

‘When I was told it was cancer, I thought: “I don’t feel like I’ve got cancer. I’m not emaciated, and I’m not, apart from the pain, unwell.”

‘You quickly have to come to terms with it and I think when you’re having those conversations, you’re really not sure how long you’ve got left.’

The Spitting Image star – who voices Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer and Donald Trump – counted himself lucky, even if he lost the ability to walk when he was operated on after the discovery of a spine tumour. (Quite the problem when you’re a stand-up comedian…)

He voices a number of politicians including Boris Johnson in Spitting Image (Picture: Mark Harrison)

‘I hopefully won’t have my life shortened by it, and my quality of life hasn’t significantly diminished,’ he says.

‘I’ve got a stoma and I have to self-catheterise in order to pee, and I still need walking sticks to get about, but my walking is improving and I don’t think I’ll need them forever.

‘Really, these things are quite small, I think, compared to the sacrifices that other people make.’

To have missed the asteroid, as Matt puts it, really brings things into perspective.

‘It was actually one of the greatest experiences of my life,’ he says. ‘It really enriched my experience of and perspective on life.

‘I feel like I got something extra out of life for having gone through this, rather than having lost anything.’

Having cancer reaffirmed Matt’s political beliefs about the incredible work done in the NHS.

‘During the night shift when I was incapable of changing my own colostomy bag – inevitably, as anyone else with a stoma will tell you, you often have accidents, and it’s not pleasant if you can’t help yourself.

‘So when you’re covered in s**t, if there’s a nurse there who spends the time with you and takes that embarrassment away…

‘When I knew particular nurses were going to be on it, I would feel better. It helped me with my pain. If I was more anxious, I was in more pain. And I just think that is an amazing thing. You know, just their personality alone was medicine.’

His new tour – The End of an Era, is a play on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour (Picture: Supplied)

Another experience that has taught Matt a lot was attempting to interview all 650 candidates head of the recent general election. (He didn’t succeed – but 150 is no small feat.)

‘Their ability to withstand pressure and defeat and rejection is stuff that I think most of us couldn’t handle,’ he reckons of the political hopefuls, the majority of whom he said were ‘well-meaning and interesting’ people.

‘I spoke to so many candidates who basically knew they were going to lose, but that wasn’t the point: they believed that people should be given the option to vote with their hearts and with their heads for values that they truly believe in, regardless of what was likely to happen.

‘I find that really impressive, that people care so much about their values, that they will risk personal defeat so other people can kind of coalesce around it.’

That sounds an awful lot like stand-up comedy.

‘Oh yes,’ Matt agrees. ‘In a superficial way, they even take place in similar arenas – on stages, often with hostile audiences – so, there absolutely are parallels.’

As a political comedian, Matt has been working with a treasure trove of material over the past few years – with Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, and Liz Truss, to name a few – who provided all those glorious moments of incompetence.

The comedian is excited to perform a whole new set under a Labour government (Picture: Supplied)

But now, since Sir Keir Starmer was elected on July 4, for the first time in his comedy career, Matt is joking under a Labour government.

The Absolute Radio host had to completely rewrite his set, which, weeks before the Edinburgh Festival was a bit of a nightmare – but one he revels in.

‘I’ve only existed as a political comedian under a Tory government, so to have a new government take the piss out of and to analyse and to write jokes about is a great creative challenge,’ he says.

‘I wanted Labour to win for national reasons, but I am relishing getting stuck into taking the mick out of Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner and everyone else, rather than just constantly have to go back to the Tory well and figure out something new to say about them.

‘Of course, it’s a challenge. Because if you’re more sympathetic to one side…’ he trails off.

‘I’ve always taken the piss out of the Labour Party as much as I have the Tories. But it’s kind of interesting when you’ve got a government that’s going to do probably more of what I want.

He’s only ever performed under the Tory government – so this will be a challenge… (Picture: Matt Stronge)

‘Obviously people make mistakes. There’s still incompetence, all the rest of the stuff that is great for political comedy, and there’s new voices to master.

‘So there will always be plenty of material.’

Material aside, while at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Matt doesn’t have back pain to contend with, having had the base of his spine removed in October he’s still using walking sticks.

‘I try to do it with one walking stick instead of two, otherwise I can’t hold the microphone,’ he says, explaining how it’s particularly hard during work in progress shows, which require him to hold notes.

‘I’ve had a few wobbles, and have almost fallen over a couple of times,’ he admits.

But it’s also been joyous.

‘It’s just been so magical getting back to work,’ Matt beams. ‘Because there’s a period in your life where you do have to be a patient and solely focus on that, and your physical and emotional recovery.

‘But you don’t want to become defined by it after a while. You want to get back to your interests, and to be back on stage. I’ve always loved it as a job – but I love it even more now.’

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