TV star Katherine Ryan shared her shock after being hit with a steep bill for a blood test. Last month, the comedian revealed that she had been diagnosed with early-stage melanoma, a type of skin cancer for the second time. After initially undergoing treatment in her 20s when she discovered a mole, Katherine opened up about the experience while reminding her fans to advocate for themselves after doctors initially dismissed her concerns.

The 41-year-old decided to take her healthcare concerns to a private clinic after being left unhappy with the response from the NHS when she noticed that the mole “wasn’t right”. The mum-of-three has since undergone surgery to remove the mole and has now had an in vitro genetics test to help detect any other potential health issues.

Katherine was stunned when she discovered she was being charged £6,000 for the test, which involves extracting and examining blood. During a recent episode of her Telling Everybody Everything podcast, she stated: “This company was so amazing and really attentive right away.

“I got an email right after my meeting with the oncologist from the patient coordinator who was like, ‘We are going to do this DNA test; we just have to take some of your blood, and we're gonna send someone to your house to get it,’ I was like, perfect.”

“The guy shows up - an absolute hunk. A very well-dressed, young, Selling Sunset type. It was a great experience. The phlebotomist took my blood quickly and everyone looked after me very well.”

Katherine continued: “They leave, and then seconds later into my inbox, I get the bill. Six grand! Six thousand pounds for the blood test. I thought, oh God, I knew that Selling Sunset hunk was too premium.”

Speaking on her husband’s reaction, she added: “I showed Bobby, and that was my biggest mistake. He was like, 'What?! A blood test!?' And I was like, ‘You know what though, Bobby, if it saves your life, then that's very little.’ I just think you can't be too careful with this stuff. I'm very lucky to have access to this kind of thing."

"I may have a melanoma gene. I don't know what they can do with that information - I think there are some medications to turn that gene off - but they do in vitro testing on your specific DNA. So they take your DNA and put it in glass and they use a variety of treatments on the specific genome that you have, and it will show what works best for you," Katherine added.