Dustin Diamond hospitalised amid cancer battle

Former Saved By the Bell star Dustin Diamond has reportedly been hospitalised in Florida.

TMZ sources claim the actor is battling cancer and was admitted to a hospital over the weekend, suffering body pains.

He lost his mother to breast cancer and reports suggest he will undergo a biopsy to help medics determine exactly what's wrong.

The alleged hospitalisation follows last year's news that the 44-year-old was not recast in the reboot of Saved By the Bell. He famously played Samuel 'Screech' Powers on the show, which ran from 1989 to 1993, and spawned a spin-off series Saved by the Bell: The College Years and Saved by the Bell: The New Class, plus multiple movies.
Lark Voorhies, who played Lisa Turtle on the show, revealed the decision had to do with money.

"The almighty dollar rules on that," she told Toronto's The Roz and Mocha Show. "They do have a segment in there that explains why he's not here. He wants to be paid and respected. We would love for him to come back on set."

The actress also noted that hope is not entirely lost that the show's producers can come to an agreement with Diamond when it comes to future episodes.

"He's going through his adult issues and all of this but I am sure he'll be back," she said.

In 2006, Diamond hit headlines when he directed and released a sex tape.

Diamond and Voorhies' original castmates Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley, and Tiffani Thiessen all appear on the new incarnation of the show.