Dame Julie Walters At London Premiere of Paddington | Toby Melville, Reuters

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Dame Julie Walters has been given the all-clear, 18 months after being diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer.

The actress said she went to the doctor after suffering pains in her stomach, severe heartburn and vomiting. A CT scan revealed that there were two tumours in her large intestine.

Speaking on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show, the veteran actress said it was a shock but her doctor was optimistic.

"I thought ‘Right', then you hold on to the positive which was that he said 'We can fix this’."

Dame Julie said one of the worst moments was having to tell her husband, Grant Roffey.

"I'll never forget his face, tears came into his eyes," she recalled.

Dame Julie missed the Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again premiere because of her illness and scenes from her upcoming film, The Secret Garden, had to be rewritten to accommodate her recovery.

The Secret Garden is based on the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel of the same name and the actress says it could be her last film.

”Nearly 42,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer in the UK every year making it the fourth most common cancer killer,” said Genevieve Edwards, Chief Executive of Bowel Cancer UK.