EastEnders legend Leslie Grantham asked a close friend: “Am I dying?” shortly before he passed away, it has been revealed.
Hollyoaks star Joe Tracini, son of comedian Joe Pasquale, said the ailing actor, who played Dirty Den on the BBC soap, made the comment during a last visit to his bedside.
According to The Sun, Joe said: “Last week he could barely hold his head up or make a sound.
Read more: EastEnders’ Letitia Dean pays tribute to Leslie Grantham
“I held his hand for a while, kissed his forehead and told him I loved him.
“As I left, he bellowed, ‘What, am I [bleeping] dying or something?’”
Another friend of Leslie, ex-glamour model Linda Lusardi, told talkRadio listeners that he had suffered ill-health for some time and had tried various treatments.
Linda, who knew Leslie for years, said: “I think the first panto I did with him was in 2007 in Plymouth and then he directed the panto that I was in last year.
“But he wasn’t well then and you know he didn’t think he’d have as long as this to be honest.
“And he was taking day by day then. He was poorly and he’d been poorly for quite a long time.
“But you know he never complained and he just got on with the job and he’s just going to be so missed.”
She said he had tried chemotherapy and alternative treatments in his battle with illness.
“He was such a character and he didn’t suffer fools. He had a great sense of humour and he was great to know,” she added.
Read more: The rollercoaster life and career of Leslie Grantham
EastEnders co-stars have also paid moving tributes to Leslie, including Anita Dobson who played on-screen wife Angie Watts.
She said: “They were memorable times. They changed my life and they changed his, and I think we were both really lucky that we were cast opposite each other because the chemistry was magic.
“We didn’t have to do anything, it just happened. We learned our lines, we met on set and bang, we were off.
“And if anything went wrong we would cover each other. It was miraculous, really. He used to say, ‘Whatever goes wrong, I’m there for you’.”
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Leslie first starred on the soap from 1985 to 1989, playing the scheming Queen Vic landlord, before being apparently killed off.
But he made a stunning return in 2003, only to leave for good at the hands of second wife Chrissie Watts.
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