McGonagall suffering from cancer

Dame Maggie 'battles breast cancer'

23 hours ago

Veteran actress Dame Maggie Smith is reported to be battling breast cancer.

A spokesman for the star, 73, refused to comment on the report.

But a friend told The Daily Telegraph's Mandrake column: "She is dealing with it in her typically brave and understated way. She has had a tumour removed and subsequently completed a course of chemotherapy. This was precautionary and the prognosis looks good. The last thing she wants to do is to make a fuss about it."

Dame Maggie is said to have filmed her role as Minerva McGonagall in the latest instalment of the Harry Potter films while undergoing radiation therapy.

Her next film is From Time To Time - Julian Fellowes' adaptation of the Lucy M Boston's series of books The Children Of Green Knowe.

Stage and screen actress Dame Maggie, who began her career at the Oxford Playhouse, has been performing for over 50 years.

She won a best actress Oscar for The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie in 1970 and a supporting actress Oscar for California Suite in 1979.

Her son, Toby Stephens, from her first marriage, played a villain in James Bond film Die Another Day.

Dame Maggie married Beverley Cross in 1975 and the marriage ended with the playwright's death in 1998.

A spokesman for the star said: "We never comment on our client's private lives."