Bob Mortimer has revealed he believes in the afterlife following a 'near death experience' he had several years ago.
The comedian suffered from heart problems in 2015 and after undergoing surgery, Mortimer learned that 95 per cent of his arteries were blocked.
He ended up having triple bypass surgery, in which his heart stopped for 32 minutes.
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After the terrifying incident, Mortimer, 64, revealed that he had a 'near death experience' which made him think about life in a totally different way.
He's since spoken about how it changed his life. In fact, the Gone Fishing star said he even saw a 'light' at the end of a tunnel.
“I did see the light at the end of the tunnel. I experienced going towards the light and feeling happier than I have ever felt, ever," he told Kathy Burke's Where There's A Will, There's A Wake podcast.
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"It was quite extraordinary, and then I woke up a day later and I was OK. I thought, ‘This is great. I no longer fear death and everything'.”
However, after mentioning the near death experience, he explained that 'loads of people wrote to me' and said: "It’s because your body gives out loads of PCT, some chemical to get you through that and it gives you these hallucinations. I was a bit sad about that.”
Mortimer's condition was so serious that he married girlfriend Lisa Matthews on the day he was admitted to hospital.
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But Mortimer says that time of his life was nothing compared to the past year, which he says has been the worst for his health.
Already suffering with rheumatoid arthritis, which flared up in 2022, Mortimer was also diagnosed with shingles, which is a painful condition caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox.
The comedian says that he thinks as much as 20 percent of the muscle mass in his legs has diminished due to his health problems.
Speaking to Paul Whitehouse on their show Gone Fishing, he said: "It's been a very, very, very unhealthy year for me Paul, with my shingles.
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"It was the worst health year of my life to be honest and you know what, it was worse than my heart period.
"At the moment the consultant is saying I'm heading for 80% muscle recovery in my leg and she said 'you'll just have to see what that means for you.'
"The muscles I've lost, I've lost… But other ones can compensate for it, you know what I mean?
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"I can make the other muscles stronger but I have a terrible feeling I'm never going to be able to run again and you know that I used to like to run Paul."
The comedian had to drop out of co-hosting the beloved show last year due to an attack of shingles.
Here's to hoping Bob has a happy and healthy 2024.
Lucy Devine