Kelsey Grammer Vouched for Toks Olagundoye to Remain on “Frasier” Revival After Cancer Diagnosis: 'This Is Your Family'
The actress confessed she was sure she would be fired after she had to undergo a double mastectomy while the show was in production
The cast of Frasier is a real family, and Kelsey Grammer looks out for his family.
During a recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Toks Olagundoye, who plays Professor Olivia Finch in the Fraiser revival, opened up about the gesture of support she received from the actor after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Though she initially caught it at stage 0 triple negative, Olagundoye's cancer progressed to stage 1 and she was told she would need surgery. She underwent three surgeries and chemotherapy a few weeks before filming Fraiser.
When the actress eventually had to get a double mastectomy, Olagundoye admitted she was convinced she would be let go.
“I’ve never had a TV family quite like the Frasier cast, they’re really amazing human beings. To be around them was really nice,” she began, explaining that she had initially planned to undergo her double mastectomy after filming.
"So I went to my showrunners, and I said, 'Listen, if you have to fire me. I've only been on three episodes so far, make me a guest star or whatever.' And they were like, 'No, we'll do whatever you need to do,'" Olagundoye recalled. "I went home. My husband was like, 'How'd it go?' I was like, 'Great. I'm sure I'm being fired any second.'"
When the actress received a call from Grammer shortly after, she admitted she was convinced she would lose her role on the show.
"He was very emotional. He didn't realize what I was going through," she shared of the phone call. "And he said, 'You know, I know how actors think. I want to let you know this is your family. You're not getting fired, we're going to do whatever we need to do to make you comfortable.' You know and I would just remember him so vividly saying, 'You're going to be so happy after this. Everything is going to be okay.'”
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After her emotional admission, host Kelly Clarkson surprised the actress with a special message from Grammer, commending her efforts in spreading breast cancer awareness.
“I’m really proud of you for being on this show," he smiled. "I salute your efforts to raise awareness and money for breast cancer, and we’ve always loved you and loved being with you when you were going through your stint, and congratulations on coming out the other side. I’m deeply, personally grateful.”
New episodes of Frasier air Thursdays on Paramount+.
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