British victims of NZ volcano named
TWO British women seriously injured at a volcano in New Zealand are a mother and daughter who were on holiday.
Retired social worker Liz McGill, 67, and her daughter Heather both suffered severe burns in the December 9 disaster.
The pair, from Basingstoke, Hants, are currently in separate hospitals and are understood to have had multiple operations after being caught up in the eruption, which killed 16 people.
They are expected to be in
New Zealand for some time and will need to be airlifted to the burns unit at Salisbury District Hospital when they return.
Liz’s ex-husband and Heather’s father Ian McGill, 68, said: “It is my ex-wife and my elder daughter.They are both in hospital in New Zealand.They have burns, I’m not going to say to what extent, but suffice to say they are likely to be there for some time.”
HE has been a constant presence on TV for the past two decades as Sir Alan Sugar’s former right-hand man on The Apprentice and then as host of Countdown for nearly eight years. But Nick Hewer is lucky to be here at all after being an “inch away” from having a stroke.The 75-year-old was working in Africa when he suddenly lost his vision and was unable to focus.
However, it was only when he returned to the UK and saw his GP, who revealed his life was in danger.
“I had the scare when I was in Sierra Leone while I was working for the charity Street Child,” says Nick. “I was in my hotel room squinting at my laptop when my vision went all funny. Unbeknown to me, a blood vessel behind my retina had burst.
“But it wasn’t until I flew back to the UK and I went to see my GP in Northamptonshire to have a yellow fever jab for my next trip that I told him that I hadn’t been able to see properly and I wasn’t feeling great. He took my blood pressure and it turned out to be really high. He looked really alarmed and said to me, ‘Good God, how long has this been going on for?’
“He said I was dangerously close to having a stroke and he would have to put me on hypertension pills but that I should get my eyes checked as well.
“I went straight to Moorfields eye hospital in London where it was confirmed I was an inch away from having a stroke and that instead of a blood vessel bursting in the brain, it had popped behind the retina of my right eye.
“They said it had been a near miss and, if it had gone undetected, it would have gone into the brain.
“I was fortuitous to be in the right place at the right time and I’ve been taking hypertension tablets since.”
Nick’s mum died aged 82, from heart complications, and his dad was 96 when he died from catching a suspected bug on the hospital wards after having a nasty fall.
Nick admits that not only has it made him aware of his mortality but he now lives as principled a life as possible.
Recently, he was one of 24 highprofile figures to write and sign an open letter saying how he refused to vote for the Labour Party because of allegations of anti-Semitism.
“Along with the likes of Joanna Lumley and John le Carré, I signed an open letter saying we must ‘encompass Britain’s Jews with unwavering solidarity’ and that we have to live in a more tolerant society,” he reveals. “I feel flattered to be in such good company to have signed this open letter. It’s something I feel very strongly about.
Bigotry of any nature is a wicked thing. My grandparents were from Belfast. I had a Catholic grandfather and a Presbyterian grandmother, so they understood about bigotry and I feel the same way about this whole antiSemitism wave.”
Nick’s Countdown colleague Rachel Riley has also spoken out about the abuse and death threats she has experienced since standing up to Labour.
The TV personality and mathematician, who gave birth to a baby girl, Maven Aria, on Sunday, has received vitriolic comments as a result.
“I’ve seen how Rachel has been trolled. It’s absolutely disgusting,” says Nick. “I admire her for standing up for what she believes in. It’s awful to think anti-Semitism even exists. I had voted Labour all my life before this but not anymore. I can’t have anything to do with them now and Jeremy Corbyn should step down.” Nick reveals that Rachel is planning to take three months maternity leave until February when they will reprise the filming of Countdown.
“Everybody on the Countdown team has been waiting with bated breath,” says Nick. “I was one of the first people to find out and she sent me some gorgeous pictures a few days ago and she looked like a very proud mum. I didn’t know if it was going to be a boy or girl, so it was a real surprise.
“I am in no doubt that she will be the best mum and her husband Pasha [Kovalev] will be a great dad.What a wonderful Christmas it will be and what a fantastic, but early, Christmas present to have.
“I live in the country and they live in town so I don’t expect we shall get to see the baby until the New Year and it might well be when filming starts on Countdown in February.
“What a great start to 2020 for them.”
NEW BABY: Rachel, Pasha and their daughter Maven Aria
NICK has signed a two-year contract to continue on Countdown until the end of 2020. “I would be flattered if they asked me to do it again. It’s quite arduous but it’s not exactly coal mining.” Nick’s TV career didn’t start until he was 60 when he joined Sir Alan Sugar as his right-hand man on The Apprentice.
The pair met in 1983 when Nick was taken on as a PR by Amstrad [founded by Sir Alan] to help with the launch of its home computers. From 2005 to 2014, Nick was an integral part of the BBC One series but he eventually quit because of exhaustion although he
PARTNERS: Nick and Catherine