A man has told how a selfie with snooker legend Will Thorne saved his life - after it made him get checked out for testicular cancer before it was too late.

Carl Guntrip, 31, was on a romantic trip to Rome with girlfriend Alisha Evans, 19, when he spotted his favourite snooker player standing beside the Trevvi foundation.

The sportsman was filming scenes for TV show The All New Monty - a reality TV shows where celebs strip off to raise awareness of testicular and prostate cancer.

Carl tuned in to see if he could spot the selfie moment in the background of the scenes - but noted the frequent step-by-step reminders urging blokes to check themselves.

A month later, Carl checked himself in the shower and found lump on his left testicle which turned out to be cancer.

The Tesco worker had the tiny lump removed and is undergoing chemotherapy, but is expected to make a full recovery.

Rhyl Journal:

Carl Guntrip, 31, in hospital. Pictures, above and below: SWNS

He said he'd never have watched the show - and then checked himself - if he hadn't had a pic with snooker hero Thorne, who he credits with saving his life.

Carl, from Newtown, Powys, Wales, said: "I know for a fact if I didn't watch the programme I never would have checked.

"Throughout the programme there were celebrities on there urging men to check themselves.

"I think for guys we don't like to mention what's going on down there.

"It's never been a topic of conversation I've had with my friends.

"It's so weird to think that selfie ended up saving my life."

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Carl surprised girlfriend Alisha with a romantic week away to Rome in January, to celebrate six months together.

The couple had stopped in front of the iconic Trevvi fountain for a romantic selfie when amateur pool and snooker player Carl spotted one of his heroes nearby.

Carl said: "We wanted to take a picture after the lights had just come on.

"We sat down and posed and I remember saying to Alisha, 'Look!' and pointed at Willie Thorne.

"I've being playing pool and snooker for years and regularly compete in competitions so it was like meeting one of my heroes.

"He was really friendly and posed up for a quick picture.

"I asked him what he was doing here and he told me they couldn't say what they were filming for but it would involve the other celebrities and will be shown later in the year.

"Then a few months later we saw his name mentioned in an advert for the TV programme."

Rhyl Journal:

Carl Guntrip, 31, was on a romantic trip to Rome with girlfriend Alisha Evans, 19. Picture: SWNS

He's been taking part in ITV’s The All New Monty: Who Bares Wins - a programme where male celebs do a striptease to raise awareness of men's cancers.

Hoping to see themselves in the background of filming, the couple tuned in to see Love Island's Jack Fincham and Emmerdale's Kelvin Fletcher strip off for charity.

While watching the show in May, Carl noted the frequent step-by-step reminders which urged blokes to check themselves for testicular cancer.

"We wanted to see if we would pop up in the background at all so we gave it a watch," he said.

"I was just in the shower a few weeks later and the thought just popped into my head.

"I checked myself out and that's when I found this lump.

"It was no bigger than the size of a pea.

"It was the first time I had ever checked and because of the size there's no way I would have just noticed that if I hadn't been looking.

"I grabbed my phone and messaged Alisha straight away."

Carl booked himself a GP appointment later that week, where his doctor diagnosed him with Stage 2 testicular cancer.

The couple were forced to cancel their holiday to Las Vegas while Carl was booked in for an operation to remove the lump the following week.

After a successful removal of the lump in June, Carl is having monthly chemotherapy sessions.

Carl said: "The doctors did say I had caught it at an early stage.

"They also said had the lump been one centimetre over it would have gone into my lymph nodes, which would have spread across my whole body.

"I started posting a few things about it on my Facebook and I actually had someone private message me to tell were able to catch it early too.

"I'm so glad it's getting sorted now but at the same time I can't believe how close I was to missing it."

The couple now want to share Carl's story to help raise awareness about testicular cancer - with Alisha running a 5km Race for Life in June.

Girlfriend Alisha said: "Initially I didn't freak out because I thought there was always a chance it could be a cyst or a vein or something like that.

"I'm just so thankful he managed to catch it so early.

"He's dealt with it so well and he's had a steady head on him.

"We celebrated our anniversary last month.

"We've definitely gone through a lot but it has made us stronger."

Carl has praised Willie Thorne - who had his own battle with prostate cancer in 2015 - for "saving his life"and urged other men to check.