Farrah Fawcett insists she is not ‘at death’s door’

Farrah Fawcett, the American actress who became one of the most famous sex symbols in the world following her appearances in 1976 in the TV series Charlie’s Angels and in a famous swimsuit poster, is seriously ill in hospital in Los Angeles after fighting cancer for nearly three years.

But the 62-year-old actress, who was admitted to hospital on Thursday, has denied initial reports that she was unconscious. She said on Monday that she was not "at death’s door".

Photographs taken last Tuesday at Los Angeles airport showed Fawcett looking frail and confined to a wheelchair. But, speaking via a friend, television producer Craig Nevius, Fawcett urged her fans to “hold on to hope”.  She admitted that the cancer had now spread to her intestines and liver but insisted that she was in hospital because of a minor blood clot - a side effect of her treatment.

"She's doing fantastic. She's not going anywhere anytime soon,” Nevius told the Associated Press. "As previously reported by everybody, she's not unconscious. She is not at death's door. The family has not gathered to say goodbye," he added.

Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in September 2006 but declared herself cancer-free four months later. In May 2007 the disease returned and she underwent alternative treatment in Germany.

When she first found fame she was married to the actor Lee Majors, star of The Six Million Dollar Man, and was known as Farrah Fawcett-Majors. The iconic photo of her in a red swimsuit, which sold a record-breaking 12 million worldwide, was shot beside the pool at the Bel Air home she shared with Majors.

When the marriage ended in 1982, she became involved with the actor Ryan O’Neal (pictured with Fawcett). Although they broke up a few years ago, he has been looking after her since the cancer was diagnosed. ·