Stefán Karl Stefánsson, a lead star in popular kids TV show LazyTown, is in the final stages of cancer, his wife has confirmed.

The actor played the villainous Robbie Rotten in the CBeebies show from 2004 to 2007, and he has remained popular to this day.

“Stefán has bile-duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma), a rare and little-researched disease,” Steinunn Olina wrote on Facebook. “The disease is now advanced to stage four, and therefore, his life expectancy is unfortunately significantly reduced.”

He was diagnosed with the disease in September 2016.

LazyTown hailed from Iceland and featured the characters Sportacus (Magnús Scheving) and the pink-haired Stephanie (Julianna Rose Mauriello/Chloe Lang). The show's message was to get kdis to be more active and to lead healthier lifestyles.

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Stefánsson's friends and fans have raised more than $140,000 (£110,000) to aid support of his treatment.

The fundraising page's organiser Mark Valeti wrote: “Despite the best efforts of his excellent Icelandic medical team, and Stefán personal heroism, there is no apparent cure."