The Office's Lucy Davis 'overwhelmed' by kindness after cancer diagnosis

The Office actress Lucy Davis has thanked fans for their "kindness and support" after revealing she has incurable breast cancer.

The 53-year-old, who played receptionist Dawn Tinsley in the BBC sitcom, announced on Tuesday she is "trying to live out whatever might be left of my life in as fun a way as I possibly can".

A flood of friends, family and followers - including her comedian father Jasper Carrott, former co-star Ricky Gervais and her Office US counterpart Jenna Fischer - left public messages of support.

"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," Davis wrote on Instagram on Thursday.

"Truly, I am in shock. That said, thank you to everyone for the tremendous amount of kindness and support you have sent me. Good grief it was emotional."

She added: "I am trying to go through all the comments on my post – and I'll get there, just give me a bit of time.

"Also, to the couple of people who slightly misread the news and commented RIP, you'll be delighted to know I am still alive – hurrah."

In order to "lighten things up", the latest message came with a video of her having a skateboarding lesson with actor Malachi Barton, who appeared with her in Disney Channel comedy series The Villains Of Valley View.

In her previous post earlier this week, Davis revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer a year and a half ago but it had spread to her bones, leaving it "too late" for chemotherapy.

"I'm not scared of whatever comes next," she continued. "I'm at peace with it."

On Wednesday, Carrott, whose real name is Robert Davis, spoke about his pride and love for his daughter.

Carrott, who was one of the most familiar faces on British television over several decades, told BBC News: "This is a very difficult time for the whole family and we have been supporting her in every way possible since her diagnosis.

"We are so grateful for all the support we have had over this trying time and we are very hopeful for her future being what she wants it to be."

Early in her acting career, Davis appeared in an episode of The Detectives, the BBC comedy starring her father, and a 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice.

Her breakthrough role came in 2001 when she was cast as Dawn, the sympathetic and witty receptionist in Gervais and Stephen Merchant's Bafta-winning office-based sitcom.

Gervais posted a love heart emoji in the comments to her health update.

While Gervais's cringeworthy character David Brent provided many of the belly laughs, the ever-present Dawn and her love interest Tim Canterbury, played by Martin Freeman, gave the show its emotional backbone.

Fischer, who played Dawn's counterpart on the US version of the show, Pam Beesly, praised Davis for her "beautiful post".

"Love you lots," wrote Fischer, who herself overcame cancer in 2024.

"And yes to working with cancer! Let's spread that message far and wide! How working is such a comfort!"

Davis went on to appear in films including Shaun Of The Dead (2004) and Wonder Woman (2017), and played Hilda Spellman in the Netflix series the Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina.