Paul Merton has been a fixture in British comedy for decades, but behind the scenes, the BBC comedy legend faced his own battles before finally finding ‘magic in the air’
Paul Merton stands as a cherished comedy icon following his years of delivering slapstick brilliance to Have I Got News For You.
Yet beneath the entertainer’s facade, the comedian has endured profoundly heartbreaking chapters, including the tragic death of his second wife, Sarah Parkinson, in 2003.
Merton is now blissfully wed to fellow comedian Suki Webster, and has opened up about how romance found its way back into his world far earlier than he had anticipated.
He revealed: “I suppose this was about six or seven months [after Sarah’s death]. I don’t think it’s one of those decisions you can make. You see what happens.
“You’re not looking necessarily, because you have to grieve. But we were in India, we were on brandy and there was a magician in the dark. You don’t think anything except, this is great fun. You don’t think, ‘oh, is this right or wrong?’ It felt natural. It felt OK.”, reports the Mirror.
Suki, who performs alongside Paul in the Comedy Store Players, remarked: “When you fall in love, you fall in love.”
The duo initially bonded during a company tour of India, where both were laid low with food poisoning. They began chatting whilst observing a magician perform in the courtyard of a poorly lit establishment where they were sipping brandy and colas.
Paul has subsequently quipped that whilst the performance wasn’t particularly impressive, there was “magic in the air” between the pair of them. That marked the start of a partnership which has blossomed into more than 10 years of matrimony and endless evenings performing together.
For Paul, Suki’s arrival brought unexpected hope during his darkest period.
His second spouse Sarah Parkinson received a devastating diagnosis of aggressive breast cancer prior to their nuptials, and tragically died merely three months after they exchanged vows. She only 41.
Paul has previously described how he turned to humour for comfort following her passing, making his way to a Comedy Store show merely six days afterwards to find solace in the collective laughter of the crowd. “It goes back to that thing about the release, the relief, it takes you somewhere else,” he revealed.
Comedy has remained a cornerstone throughout Merton’s existence, serving both as his profession and anchor during turbulent periods. Born Paul Martin, he embraced the stage moniker Merton from early on and initially gained recognition through Whose Line Is It Anyway? in 1988.
Yet as his professional life was flourishing, the programme faced delays and he suffered a psychological collapse that resulted in a six-week stay at the Maudsley psychiatric hospital.
Even with his personal battles, he maintains the ability to view that chapter with levity, recounting his experience of being someone grappling with vastly different challenges from his fellow patients: “I was in a room for group therapy after breakfast every morning. There was somebody who had been kicked out of their council house.
“Somebody else said his daughter was heavily into drugs. All these terrible things were happening to them. My thing was that somebody had cancelled a television series. I never said that in the session, because I knew: “That’s awkward. ” I still had a sense of proportion and a sense of humour about it.”
Fortunately, circumstances improved dramatically for Merton, as he’d achieved household recognition by 1990. The comedian has continued as a mainstay on Have I Got News For You from that point onwards.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
