Stand-up comedian Richard Herring is taking on a half marathon in Knebworth to fulfil a promise to raise money for the hospital where his life was saved earlier this year.

At Stevenage's Lister Hospital in March, Richard - a champion of Channel 4 game show Taskmaster - had surgery to remove a testicle after discovering a lump doctors later confirmed as cancerous.

The dad-of-two vowed to raise funds for both Lister and the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Northwood, where he had chemotherapy, once he was well again.

The 54-year-old is now training to take on the Hertfordshire Half Marathon at Knebworth House on November 7 to raise funds for the East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity, which supports both Lister and Mount Vernon.

Richard said: “I’m very grateful to all the medical staff who have got me this far and I know they'll be keeping an eye on me for months and years to come.

“I don’t want to gush about the NHS, but they have given me the hope of seeing my kids grow up and leave home and the prospect of some time to myself once they’re gone.”

In his Warming Up blog, he wrote: "I still haven't quite got out of brush-with-death mode and am still hugging my kids tight and breathing in deep and appreciating the greens of the countryside on dog walks.

"I have been keen to plough ahead and leave all this behind, like a weird fever dream that came out of COVID, but I have to try and accept that it's all real and, even if all goes well, that doesn't make me immortal."

Richard smashed his previous fundraising target of £10,000 and is now over halfway to reaching his new target of £25,000.

Eloise Huddleston, director of the East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Richard for raising funds for us. His kind support will help our amazing NHS staff continue to go above and beyond in the care they give to all our patients.

“The Knebworth Half Marathon is tough in places, so he has given himself quite a challenge. I hope everyone joins us in wishing him luck and thanking him for his support. He is an absolute star.”

You can sponsor Richard at justgiving.com/fundraising/monoball