David Carey, who appeared in a comedy skit on Opportunity Knocks at the age of nine, was one of the show’s youngest contestants – now he’s been given a devastating diagnosis
08:00, 21 Mar 2026Updated 08:38, 21 Mar 2026
David thought that his weight loss was down to quitting beer
An Opportunity Knocks child star believed he’d shrunk down to a ‘skeleton’ thanks to quitting beer – only for it to be terminal cancer.
David Carey performed a comedy skit on Opportunity Knocks at the age of nine in 1976, and was one of the show’s youngest contestants. The 59-year-old went to Hong Kong, China, to work with his brother Geoffrey Tipton, in 2002 and met his Thai wife Kanjana Carey there, before the pair moved to Khon Kaen in Thailand.
They married soon after, before having their daughters, Diana Carey, 23, and 14-year-old Edwina Carey. The 59-year-old lost ‘a lot of weight’ in December 2023, which he put down to ditching beer from his diet, but his brother 63-year-old Geoffrey Tipton wasn’t convinced.
David with his wife Kanjana before his diagnosis(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
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In January the system engineer collapsed at home twice, before being rushed to hospital in Khon Kaen, North Thailand. There, he underwent various tests and scans and was devastated to be diagnosed with stage four metastatic lung cancer.
David, who is from Blackpool, Lancashire, was also given the heartbreaking news that he has just six months to live as the cancer had spread to his brain and chest. The dad-of-two has lived in Thailand for the last 23 years but claims that due to being a ‘foreigner’, he isn’t entitled to free health care and didn’t have health insurance.
David appeared on Opportunity Knocks as a child(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
David’s brothers have set up a GoFundMe to help fund hospital treatment, claiming it costs an eye-watering £1,000 a visit. David’s brother Geoffrey said: “One of my brothers went to see him and said ‘my God he’s lost a lot of weight’.
“He went from really big, overweight, to a skeleton – really, really thin. It didn’t seem normal but when we challenged him he said ‘oh I just stopped drinking beer and my weight dropped off’. We didn’t believe him but we accepted it.
“I got a report from my brother (January 2026) who said ‘Dave’s in hospital’. They told him, you’ve got metastasised lung cancer and it’s become a tumour in the brain, he’s got a tumour in the chest and bits and pieces around the body. That’s when they told him ‘you’ve only got six months’.
David Carey’s cancer diagnosis has seen his weight drop dramatically(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
“Thailand doesn’t treat foreigners the same way they treat locals. Locals can have free medical care, foreigners can never have that. I got some money together and sent it over to pay the bills for him with my brothers’ help.
“When he got home, he was crying on the phone. He wasn’t crying about himself, he was crying about his family. He was like ‘what can I do?’ and he disconnected the phone. I turned around and looked at my wife, tears on my face and I couldn’t talk. I was quite upset.”
David with his wife Kanjana after his diagnosis(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
Geoffrey, an AI data scientist, says the biggest issue the family are facing is that they can’t afford treatment in Thailand. Due to immigration rules, Geoffrey says David’s wife and children wouldn’t be able to come with him to the UK.
Geoffrey, who now lives in Hong Kong, said: “If he goes to the UK he can’t take his wife and his daughters. He doesn’t want to die alone in the UK and he doesn’t have a home there to live in either.
David with his mum on the day of filming Opportunity Knocks(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
“In Thailand medical help for foreigners is there but it’s not free. Me and my brothers are all trying to do our part to help but it’s not enough. Treatment ranges from $3,000 to $5,000 per treatment, about £1,000 a visit.
“Money is his biggest problem, even the Thai hospitals say ‘chemotherapy is an option but it’s going to cost millions’. We’ve got no idea where we are going to get millions from. They also say that the cancer treatment might be able to prolong his life but it won’t be able to cure him.
“It’s hard for us because we are all pretty close, we love each other. Me and my brothers are all trying to do our part to help but it’s not enough. We didn’t expect this to happen to Dave so soon.”
You can donate to David’s GoFundMe here.