Ryan O'Neal to wed Farrah Fawcett!

The couple have been together on-and-off since 1982

US actor Ryan O'Neal has said he will marry his longtime companion, actress Farrah Fawcett.

"I've asked her to marry me, again, and she's agreed," the 68-year-old told Barbara Walters in a US TV interview.

He added the actress was "fighting for her life" after being diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006.

O'Neal and Fawcett, 62, have been romantically involved on and off since 1982. The couple have a son together, Redmond, but have never married.

"I used to ask her to marry me all the time but it just got to be a joke, you know. We just joked about it," he said in the interview.

He added this time the agreement was real, saying: "We will, as soon as she can say 'yes' - maybe she can just nod her head."

Last month, O'Neal told People magazine that the Charlie's Angels star's cancer had spread to her liver and that her treatment had effectively ended.

Fawcett declared herself cancer-free four months after originally being diagnosed with cancer, only to have the disease return in May 2007.

She shared her experiences of battling the disease in footage she released to the media in 2008.

O'Neal's interview will be shown in the US on 26 June.

BBC NEWS REPORT.