Richard Bacon secretly quit his US TV show to move back to Britain before falling into a coma with suspected pneumonia
STRICKEN Richard Bacon had secretly quit his US telly job to move back here when he fell ill.
Richard, 42, wanted kids Arthur, six, and Ivy, four, to be near relatives.
The star had UK job offers and talks lined up when he was rushed to hospital with suspected pneumonia and placed in a coma.
A TV source said yesterday: “Richard was excited about returning so his kids could see their grandparents more often and be less isolated.
“He’s in demand, with a variety of job offers on the table. There were also meetings set up about radio and TV work in London.”
The ex-Blue Peter star, wife Rebecca and their kids moved to the States three years ago. His most recent role was hosting Fox talkshow Top 30 in Los Angeles.
Richard was stretchered off a flight from the US and taken to hospital in Lewisham, South East London. He spent a week fighting for life in an induced coma.
He also had a tracheostomy — a tube put in a hole in his throat — to aid breathing.
Mum Christine said he was improving after he briefly opened his eyes last week.
She revealed terrified family members feared they “were going to lose him” after he was placed in a medically induced coma.
Christine said: “It was such a relief when he opened his eyes, although he’s not responding to us very well yet we can see that he is getting better.
"The doctors have said that he is very distressed and confused after being in a coma for a week, which you can understand, and that we need to keep talking to him and reminding him of where he is.”
She added in a post on Twitter: “As many people know, my son @richardpbacon has been in a medically induced coma in intensive care for a week…
“But he’s young, he’s fit and the NHS have been brilliant, and I’m sure he’ll come through this.
“Been very worrying. We’ve received so many lovely messages…”
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Richard's wife Rebecca McFarlane, the daughter of Barclays’ chairman John, is believed to have been at his bedside throughout his ordeal.
It comes just four months after he revealed he had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), saying it had given him understanding about why he took drugs as a Blue Peter presenter nearly 20 years ago.