Comedian and TV star Michael Barrymore, who was the golden boy of television in the 90s, was seen lying in a hospital bed and told fans about his life-changing condition
Michael Barrymore has developed epilepsy after suffering a mini-stroke.
The 73-year-old comedian and former king of light entertainment told fans the mini stroke caused him to develop the potentially deadly condition, which has resulted in him having “uncontrollable seizures”. The TV star was seen lying in a hospital bed in a video posted on TikTok.
He opened up about his health issues in a series of photos on the platform, where he has become a somewhat unlikely social media star. He wrote: “I developed epilepsy at 73… A mini stroke caused me to develop epilepsy where I have uncontrollable seizures.
“I suffer from cluster seizures, which affects a quarter of people with epilepsy. It means I have more than one, usually three individual seizures in a short period of time.
“It’s scary because there’s a 40% chance of going into epilepticus which causes brain damage and death without prompt medical attention.
Barrymore added: “I’ve had several attacks this year and have emergency medication at home if I go into a seizure. It doesn’t really affect my life otherwise, but it would be nice to talk with other sufferers on here about it.”
The star who used to host iconic game shows such as Strike It Lucky in the 80s and 90s has admitted he thinks the format of Strike It Lucky wasn’t any good. He told Daily Star: “The format of Strike It Lucky is s***. It’s crap. It’s a terrible game. It doesn’t work.”
He added: “Strike It Lucky wasn’t about the game – that was just a vehicle for me to do all the nonsense. We sold the format to all these other countries based on my recordings. But they didn’t make it work because it wasn’t about the format.”
Michael said it wouldn’t work if a new series was made now because of strict budgets. He said: “I’ve been told that if I did Strike It Lucky today, I’d have to make five in a day because of costs. But you can’t make those sorts of shows like that. They wouldn’t be the same.
He reckons the quality of TV shows will decline if things keep going the way they are. Michael said: “You’re never going to have shows like Strike It Lucky again. They require investment, a bit of talent and being brave. If you’re going to tick boxes when making art like they do now, it’s never going to be great.”
Barrymore’s TV career effectively ended after Stuart Lubbock was found dead in a swimming pool following a party at Barrymore’s house in Harlow, Essex. He has repeatedly denied any involvement with the partygoer’s death.
Barrymore was set to appear on Dancing on Ice in 2019 but had to withdraw because of a broken hand. He’s since become a social media star who has millions of fans on TikTok and YouTube.
Even Sabrina Car[enter reposted one of his videos. He said afterwards: “Gang I just woke up to find that Sabrina Carpenter knows I exist. I am fangirling so hard right now!!”
Have you joined Threads? Follow Daily Star to keep up to date on all things showbiz here.
Want all the biggest Showbiz and TV news straight to your inbox? Sign up for our free Daily Star Showbiz newsletter.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
