Paramedics said Steph was 20 mins from death

FOR Gogglebox stars Dom and Steph Parker it was the worst Boxing Day of their lives.

“A near-death experience, really,” says Dom, recalling the nightmare last year when Steph, 52, was struck down by double pneumonia.

Dom, 54, is used to recounting the details of what happened because Steph really doesn’t have any clear memories of her terrifying experience.

All she recalls is the way she felt before the attack: “I had started going a bit mad because I had no oxygen in my system. But I didn’t even realise it because when you are that sick you don’t really know what’s going on at all.

“Christmas is very busy in our home and we had been away working solidly in the run-up. I had to put a tree up and make everything happen in 24 hours. So I think I pushed myself too far and it was just sheer exhaustion, which allowed infection in.”

Even telling such a serious story the pair are every bit as eccentric and entertaining as they were when they boozed their way through the week’s TV highlights on Gogglebox from 2013 until 2016, before quitting to start making daytime telly and present Saturday show on Heart FM.

Dom says: “To my untrained eye everything had seemed relatively normal, so it was a real shock.

“Steph had a cough and was moaning and complaining of feeling tired, but there was no temperature so I didn’t think there was anything serious.

“Then, suddenly, she went a bit doolally. She just wasn’t making a lot of sense.” Steph laughs. “He’s used to that, so he ignored me.”

But their daughter Honor, 16, and Dom’s mum Vivien persuaded him to phone 111. The call handler asked to speak to Steph and seven minutes later there was an ambulance at the door of their family home in Beaulieu, Hampshire.

“I was astounded,” says Dom. “The paramedic said, ‘Your wife is really rather ill – another 20 minutes and she might have been dead’. Basically, her lungs were stuffed.”

Steph was put on oxygen and rushed to Southampton General Hospital’s A&E department.

“They pumped her with drugs,” Dom recalls. “I’ve never seen so many wires and tubes going in and out of a human being. Pneumonia is a funny old thing a because to me Steph just had a very bad cough, but the infection slows everything down and other bits and pieces stop working, so it can kill.”

It was months before Steph was well enough to get back to work – and almost six months on, she says she still feels weak.

“I get tired very quickly,” she explains. “All in all it has been quite an experience. I wasn’t able to travel until the end of March and had to start back bit by bit and take it slowly, making sure I could manage.

“I’m having to be a bit more grown up and look after myself a little better – get to bed early, that sort of thing... elderly stuff. It has crept up on us really.

“Dom’s had quite the time trying manage our parents, our kids, our work commitments plus a fairly sick wife.”

As a busy couple with elderly FAME The couple on Gogglebox

parents and two children – Honor and Max, 18, who has epilepsy and autism – it’s unsurprising that looking after their own health found itself way down on the list of priorities.

“Things can get pretty hectic, especially when we are travelling around the country filming, looking after our parents and children,” says Dom. “It can be quite time consuming to keep on top of things.” The juggling act is one of the reasons the couple has teamed up with Boots UK to promote their new online prescription service.

“It got to the stage where we felt like we were in and out of the pharmacy every other day,” says Dom. “At one point I had to drive to Southampton to get a specific prescription for Steph’s recuperation. The Boots service would have been really helpful because life was pretty frantic as it was.

“Luckily, there was nothing daunting about ordering repeat prescriptions online even if, like us, you don’t consider yourself to be particularly tech savvy. It’s great to know nothing will get missed as everything is in one place.” ■ For more information about Boots Free Online NHS Repeat Prescription Service, download the Boots app or go to boots.com/NHS STILL WEAK Steph with Dom almost six months on

■ Most common in autumn and winter, pneumonia affects around 8 in 1,000 adults each year. It is swelling (inflammation) of the tissue in one or both lungs, usually due to a bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae. It causes tiny clusters of air sacs at the end of breathing tubes in the lungs to become inflamed and fill with fluid.

■ Symptoms can develop over 24 to 48 hours, or may come on over several days. They include a cough which may be dry, or produce thick yellow, green, brown or blood-stained mucus, difficulty breathing, rapid heartbeat, fever, feeling unwell, sweating and shivering, loss of appetite and chest pain which gets worse when breathing or coughing.

■ Less common symptoms include coughing up blood, headaches, fatigue, nausea or vomiting, wheezing, joint and muscle pain, feeling confused and disorientated, particularly in old people.

■ See your GP if you feel unwell and have typical symptoms of pneumonia. Seek urgent medical attention if you’re experiencing severe symptoms, such as rapid breathing, chest pain or confusion.

I went a bit mad as I had no oxygen in my system. When you’re that ill you don’t know what’s going on at all