The 36-year-old is stepping down from his TV role to deal with his non-Hodgkin lymphoma

TV’s Spartacus: Blood and Sand star Andy Whitfield will not be returning to the Starz series for a second season, due to a recurrence of cancer that will require aggressive treatment, the network has announced.

“It’s with a deep sense of disappointment that I must step aside from such an exceptional project as Spartacus and all the wonderful people involved,” Whitfield, 36, said in a statement. “It seems that it is time for myself and my family to embark on another extraordinary journey.”

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In March of this year it was reported that Whitfield, born in Wales and a resident of Australia, had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.