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'Spartacus' Star Andy Whitfield Leaves Series After Cancer Recurs
by Catherine Lawson, posted Sep 20th 2010 7:15AM
It's been announced that Andy Whitfield will not be returning for the second season of 'Spartacus: Blood and Sand' because his cancer has recurred.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Whitfield's doctors have advised him to "immediately resume aggressive treatment" for the cancer. He was diagnosed with Stage 1 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in early March, and production on season 2 was postponed while he underwent treatment.
But recently Whitfield had been in remission, and after being cleared by doctors to return to work, he'd been training hard for season 2. He even attended the 'Spartacus' panel at Comic-Con where he said he felt "better than ever."
In a statement, Whitfield said "It's with a deep sense of disappointment that I must step aside from such an exceptional project as 'Spartacus' and all the wonderful people involved. It seems that it is time for myself and my family to embark on another extraordinary journey. Thank you sincerely for the support so far."
In July Starz announced that the gap between seasons one and two would be bridged by an epic new prequel, 'Spartacus: Gods of the Arena,' starring Australian actor Dustin Clare. It's stil scheduled to premiere in January 2011, but no decisions have been made yet about the fate of the original series, production on which was supposed to be resuming soon.
"Right now, we just want to extend our concern and support to Andy and his family," said Carmi Zlotnik, Managing Director, Starz Media. "We will address our programming plans at some later date."
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