Saved by the Bell star Dustin Diamond has confirmed he has stage four cancer.
The 44-year-old played Samuel ‘Screech’ Powers throughout the NBC sitcom. However, he was one of the few actors who didn’t return for the 2020 revival, along with Dennis Haskins’ Principal Belding.
Diamond’s team confirmed his diagnosis via his Facebook page last night, January 14, releasing a short statement.
The team’s statement read, ‘At this time we can confirm that Dustin does have cancer. Dustin will disclose more information once it is available and a plan moving forward is made.’
The post also offers an address fans can send letters or cards to, but his team have asked that people don’t take advantage of this for other means.
It adds, ‘We ask at this time no autograph requests be sent to this address as that isn’t what it’s for. We ask everyone to respect Dustin’s privacy during this difficult time. All positivity and prayers are appreciated.’
One of Diamond’s reps also confirmed to TODAY that he’d been hospitalised with stage four cancer in Florida, however it’s not yet been revealed exactly which type of cancer he’s facing.
The spokesperson told the outlet, ‘It’s serious, but we don’t know how serious yet. He’s going for testing. He hasn’t been feeling well. He’s at an undisclosed hospital in Florida. We are hoping for a speedy recovery.’
A member of Diamond’s team also told Yahoo Entertainment, ‘We’ll have a better answer after all the tests are done. But they are doing a ton of tests on him. We’re just hoping for a speedy recovery.’
A rep also told Fox News that he was ‘scared but hopeful’, saying, ‘He’s always going to remain upbeat – that’s just who he is in that respect.’
The Facebook post has racked up hundreds of comments with well-wishes from fans, with one writing, ‘You are super loved by everyone here Dustin. Your name ain’t Diamond for nothing. Keep your mind up. You are valuable, worthy and quite important so know, you’re not alone and are loved!’
Another wrote, ‘Sending prayers. You helped build my teenage years and thank you for the laughs and being a great character. I will be praying and god be with you today and every day. Thank you.’
As for where Diamond’s character is in the revival, A.C. Slater recently explained on the show, ‘Screech is so lucky he and Kevin [his AI robot] get to live on the International Space Station so he doesn’t have to deal with all this.’
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