Ladies' man: Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed that prostate cancer has left him impotent
By
Liz Thomas and
Sophie Borland
Last updated at 10:28 PM on 30th March 2011
Ladies' man: Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed that prostate cancer has left him impotent
Andrew Lloyd Webber has revealed he is impotent after treatment to fight prostate cancer.
The 63-year-old composer had his prostate removed after being diagnosed with the disease in 2009.
He had initially been keen to explore alternative therapies but opted to have the organ taken out when doctors told him it would mean he had virtually a ‘100 per cent chance’ of a full recovery.
However, he was told that such surgery would result in impotence and that he would be unlikely to have sex again naturally.
Lord Lloyd-Webber, who has been married three times, admits he is resigned to a sexless life.
He told Piers Morgan on his ITV1 Life Stories show: ‘I am a ladies’ man who can never make love. I am resigned to that.
‘When I had a check-up, they told me I ought to have a biopsy. I’d already prepared myself for it.
‘The main side effects, of course, are that you can’t have sex. That’s the main thing.
‘But look, hang on a moment – I’m alive; I have my music; I have my children. I am the luckiest man.
‘If I’d left it, the chances are I’d be on chemotherapy now and it would be a nightmare.
‘I regard it as great luck that I’m out the other side.’
Lord Lloyd-Webber wed his first wife, Sarah Hugill, in 1972, and had two children, Imogen, 32, and Nicholas, 30, before divorcing in 1983.
Therapy: Lord Lloyd-Webber said that Viagra and penis pumps 'too gruesome to contemplate' had been suggested to him and wife Madeleine
He married Sarah Brightman the following year and they remained together for six years.
In 1991, he married his current wife, Madeleine Gurdon. The couple have three children – Alastair, 17, William, 14, and Isabella, 13.
Lord Lloyd-Webber admitted he had since consulted a sex therapist to see if there was any solution to the situation and was advised to try medication or a ‘penis pump’.
He explained: ‘I did look into the alternative possibilities.
Support: The composer and Madeleine arrive last year with their family for the world premiere of his new production, Love Never Dies, the follow-up to The Phantom Of The Opera
‘I did go to the sex education [clinic] for people who have lost their
prostates and [they were] very sweet.
She said, “Ooh, but you can try Viagra, you can try all that and see if it
works”.’
The star said that when she produced the ‘pump’ he struggled to accept the concept and his wife felt it ‘too gruesome’.
‘I just said, “I can’t use this thing!” For a [ladies’ man], you just have to live with it. You just have to laugh,’ he said.
Doctors have said he is free of the disease because it was caught in the very early stages but he still has regular check-ups to make sure that it has not returned.
He will not get the all-clear, however, until he remains free from the cancer for five years – in 2014.
Play: Original Phantom Of The Opera cast members Sarah Brightman, Webber's second wife, as Christine and Michael Crawford as The Phantom
One of the UK’s most prolific composers, Lord Lloyd-Webber is best known for hits such as The Phantom of the Opera, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita and Starlight Express.
In recent years he has built up his popular profile appearing on BBC talent search series for West End shows including Oliver! and The Sound of Music.
The most recent series – Over The Rainbow – found a new Dorothy for his production of the Wizard of Oz.
Piers Morgan’s Life Stories is on ITV1 at 9pm on April 9.
