James Bond star Salmon reveals he suffered from serious case of virus

James Bond star Colin Salmon said he felt as if he was “slipping away” after contracting coronavirus on New Year’s Eve.

The actor’s family – his wife Fiona Hawthorne and their four children – fell ill with the virus and he was admitted to hospital for treatment.

The 58-year-old, best known for playing MI6 deputy chief of staff Charles Robinson in three Bond films, credited the work of doctors with saving his life.

He said: “I felt as if I was slipping away. If I hadn’t gone to hospital, I wouldn’t be here now.”

Painter and illustrator Hawthorne also revealed how she was diagnosed with a rare lung condition, interstitial lung disease, two years ago, leading her to use an oxygen tank.

Doctors warned her that her condition made her more vulnerable to Covid-19.

She said: “I felt flattened and had a thumping headache. Although it exacerbated my condition, I came through it.”

Hawthorne is publishing two books featuring artworks based on her time living in Hong Kong – a children’s picture book called The Extraordinary Amazing Unbelievable Incredible Walled City Of Kowloon

and a hard-back coffee table book titled Drawing On The Inside: Kowloon Walled City 1985.

She said of the projects: “For me and the people who lived there it wasn’t the awful place it is often portrayed as.

“It was an industrious community and full of life. My aim is to share this extraordinary legacy with the next generation.”

Colin Salmon fell ill with the virus on New Year’s Eve.