Paul O’Grady has opened up about the health battle that left him bed-bound and unable to work for months.
The beloved TV presenter contracted Covid last year, after managing to avoid the virus throughout the pandemic.
Explaining what happened, he said he was “shocked” at how bad he felt, saying it took two months to get over it.
Paul O’Grady health scare
Speaking to The Mirror, Paul, 67, recalled: “All I did was sleep. I’d wake up, go downstairs and sit on the couch and then pass out for another four hours.
“I’d get up, have a cup of tea and then go back to bed and sleep all night, it was very odd. I just felt terrible with it. I’ve never slept so much in my life. I’d had all the jabs, but it just finished me off.
“Thank God I’m over it now, but at one time I thought: ‘Is this ever going to go? Am I ever going to get my energy back and stop being tired?’ It wasn’t pleasant.”
He caught the virus last July, while filming series two of Sally Lindsay’s murder mystery show The Madame Blanc Mysteries.
After feeling “off” for a day, he woke up the next day feeling like he was “dying”, with a cough and headache.
He spent the next nine days holed up in his hotel room, unable to shake off the illness.
Paul, who has had two heart attacks, ended up seeing his cardiologist, who diagnosed long Covid after an x-ray.
Paul’s latest news
After taking a break from social media since December, Paul took to Instagram at the end of January to share some exciting news.
View this post on Instagram
The former drag queen is set to reprise his role as Miss Hannigan in a new stage production of Annie.
He’ll be touring the UK with the musical from March, and will appear in Newcastle, Edinburgh, Southampton, Liverpool, Dublin and Bristol.
And he gets to share the iconic role with Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood, who will appear on the other dates of the tour.
Read more: Paul O’Grady shocks Instagram followers with family news: ‘I can’t believe it’
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