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Actress Lucy Davis told an audience that she was “grateful” for their support in her first public appearance since revealing she had been diagnosed with incurable breast cancer.
The 53-year-old star of The Office appeared at the For The Love of Fantasy & Sci-Fi convention at Excel London on Saturday to talk about the 2004 zombie-comedy Shaun of the Dead, in which she played Dianne.
It was her first public appearance since announcing on August 11 that she had “incurable” stage four breast cancer that had “metastasised” to her bones since a diagnosis a year and half ago.
Speaking on a headline panel alongside the film’s director, Edgar Wright, and Simon Pegg, who played the film’s eponymous main character, Davis told hundreds in the audience she was “grateful” for the support she had received throughout the convention.
Prior to the panel, Davis had been signing autographs and posing for photographs.
The actress, whose father is comedian Jasper Carrott, said: “It’s like this whole second family you never knew you had, everyone is like a community, friendly, supportive of not only us but you guys and each other.
“We need a bit more niceness in the world, so I’m grateful.”
Davis, who needed assistance to get on and off the stage for the 30-minute appearance, was not asked directly about her health.
But the actress, who is best known for playing receptionist Dawn Tinsley in Ricky Gervais’s hit BBC series The Office, was given a round of applause when asked for advice about getting into the film industry.
She said: “Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do or be anything you want to do or be. We all grow up with a different life with a different world telling us we all have limitations.
“None of us do, our only limitations are things that we think are limiting. We can do anything, or be anybody, and don’t apologise for that.”
Davis thanked fans two days after she announced her condition, which has spread to her spine, right hip and ribs, and said it was “too late” for chemotherapy.
In a post on Instagram, she said: “Ok, so the last two days have been utterly overwhelming, in that I had zero idea my cancer post would have the attention it did.
