Charlie's Angel Farrah Fawcett has been diagnosed with cancer of the intestine, it was claimed today.

But the devastated 59-year-old has vowed to beat the disease. The actress has already received radiation treatment and is now preparing for chemotherapy and surgery, according to today's National Enquirer.

The illness will dash hopes of a one-off Charlie's Angels special to mark the 30th anniversary of the Seventies crime-fighting show.

TV bosses were planning to bring Farrah and co-stars Kate Jackson, 57, and Jaclyn Smith, 60, out of retirement for one last spectacular.

The trio — famous as the sexy detectives in the series — had an emotional reunion at the Emmys in August where they made a tearful tribute to show boss Aaron Spelling who died in June.

The show made Farrah a star in the Seventies with her dazzling smile and flicked-out hairstyle — copied recently by Madonna.

Since then her career has waned and her life has been punctuated by traumatic relationships. But friends say her diagnosis has brought her back together with actor Ryan O'Neal, the father of her two sons.

The couple split in 1994 after 17 years but rekindled their relationship seven years later when O'Neal, 65, was battling leukaemia.

They broke up again two years ago but O'Neal is now lending all the support he can. A family friend said: "After Farrah got the diagnosis — a malignant tumour in her lower intestine — she was devastated.

"Everyone in the family cried for days. Then she snapped out of it and told Ryan, 'I'm going to beat this'."

Since leaving Charlie's Angels, Farrah has become more famous for her erratic behaviour than her acting. In 2004, her appearance at a New York fashion show led to rumours that she had tried plastic surgery.

Her usual fresh look had been swapped for heavy make-up and the tightest of smiles.