Australian comedian Denise Scott has revealed she has been battling aggressive breast cancer for the past six months while filming the reboot of ABC hit comedy, Mother and Son.

In an exclusive interview with The Australian Women’s Weekly, the 68-year-old comedy legend said not even chemotherapy could stop her filming her first lead role in a television show.

The former Studio 10 panelist and Winners & Losers star said she and her partner John Lane moved from Melbourne to Sydney, where she endured 12-hour filming days and underwent rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

“I learnt the result on a phone consult. It was all just a shock … I saw a surgeon and said, ‘I can’t do any of this. I’m going to Sydney to film!’”

“The night I noticed the rash, I thought, ‘this is breast cancer’. Then, when the GP said mastitis, there was a momentary sigh of relief. But she also said, ‘You’ve got to have a mammogram as soon as possible.’

“And then I think I knew,” she tells AWW.

It was her doctor who insisted she’d have to begin chemotherapy immediately, as the type of cancer she had, HER2-positive, was particularly aggressive.

“I don’t know who first suggested I try to do both, which in hindsight was insane,” she says.

“I think it was me. I was thinking ‘I don’t want to shut this whole production down,’ and also thinking, ‘I want to live!’,” she tells AWW in their September issue.

Fans and many in the industry were unaware of her diagnosis.

“On set, there was so much fear of the unknown, feeling sick and thinking, ‘I’m not going to get through this next hour,’”.

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Prognosis ‘good’

The ABC confirmed to The New Daily that Scott’s eight-part show, Mother and Son, the Ruth Cracknell and Garry McDonald comedy classic that ran for six seasons between 1984 and 1994, will premiere as scheduled on August 23.

She plays mother Maggie Beare, and stars alongside Matt Okine, in a “fresh reimagining” of the iconic family favourite.

In a statement to The New Daily, ABC Head of Comedy Todd Abbott said it was “a thump in the guts for everyone to learn that this brilliant and fiercely funny human being was facing this battle”.

Mr Abbott said Scott’s involvement in the show was a “huge factor in why we commissioned the series in the first place, so we would’ve done whatever it took”.

“Scotty, of course, was the most extraordinary trouper and insisted she could make the show on its existing schedule and get treatment at the same time.

“That’s why she’s a legend. She is pure class,” Mr Abbott said.

Scott needed to take time off for chemotherapy, blood tests and recovery, so on the days she was on set, she worked 12-hour shifts or more.

A body double was provided by the production company who stood in for when the cameras weren’t rolling.

Scott’s treatment is due to continue for another nine months, and she’s confident of making a full recovery.

“The prognosis has continued to be good,” she said.

“There’s a lot of hope.”

“It’s been very humbling, in that I thought I’d be a terrific person in my own health crisis – upbeat, positive, taking it on the chin,” she said.

“Oh no! I’ve complained to John all the time.”

Denise Scott and Matt Okine in the Mother and Son re-boot. Photo: ABC

AWW editor-in-chief Nicole Byers said it was “impossible not to be touched by the courage and determination she’s shown, all while retaining her famous sense of humour”.

Scott says “I do console myself that at least I’ve lived a full life that I’m happy with”.

“But, oh, I don’t want to go yet. There are things I want to do. I’ve realised that my work has been who I am, and that perhaps I’ve been ignoring other parts of life for quite a long time.

“So I want to rectify that, see more of my grandson.

“I want to do some gardening. I want to travel. I want to keep doing comedy and writing too, of course.

“But first, I want to get well.”

Scott was one of 1192 recipients in the 2023 King’s Birthday honours list in June for her “significant service to the arts as a comedian and
actress”.

She has featured on shows including Have You Been Paying Attention, The Project, Spicks and Specks, Good News Weeks, Would I Lie to You?, All Star Family Feud and Hughesy, We Have a Problem.

Mother and Son premieres on August 23 at 8.30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV