Corrie star: ‘I feared I’d die after flu’
CORONATION Street legend Ken Morley has survived many serious illnesses over the years but says a bout of “killer flu” last month left him fearing he would die.
The 76-year-old was playing an Ugly Sister in Cinderella at the Grand Opera House in York when he collapsed backstage and was taken to hospital.
“I can honestly say I’ve never felt as close to the final curtain as when I collapsed,” he said.
“I had continual sniffles and a hacking cough for the two weeks of rehearsals and then I had a nose bleed as the show started.
“I suddenly felt dizzy and fuzzy and couldn’t remember any of the lines. I was really stricken.”
Over the years, Morley, who played Bettabuy store boss Reg Holdsworth in the ITV soap from 1989 to 1995, has suffered prostate cancer, a quadruple heart bypass, angina and a burst appendix.
“But nothing has been as bad as that bout of flu,” he said.
“I know I have been exceedingly lucky to dodge the Grim Reaper as many times as I have.”
Now back home in Chorley, Lancashire, he still feels frail from the illness but is able to laugh about his “miracle Morley” recoveries in an autobiography he is writing, called From Here To Infirmity.
He added: “I cannot go outside without being recognised as Reg Holdsworth. That shows how well-loved Coronation Street is,