Richard Madeley reveals he’s now DEAF after suffering a new strain of Covid
TV legend Richard Madeley has revealed he has been left DEAF after contracting covid.
The star recently battled the particularly nasty new variant of Covid, he reveals, leaving him with a perforated eardrum.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Richard, 67, explained: ”Yeah, I got a post-Covid complication.
“It’ll heal in time but for now it’s a total pain - it feels like I’ve got a cork in my right lughole!
“Funnily enough, doing GMB, which I was a bit worried about, gives me better hearing because I wear my studio earpiece in that ear and I can wind up the volume to the max: it’s a bit like having a hearing aid I suppose.
“Susanna [Reid] sits on my left and I can hear fine on that side. But having conversations in a busy pub or office is tricky; lots of different voices and loud background noise makes it really hard to work out what someone is saying to me.
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"I’ll just have to be patient - my ENT [Ear, Nose and Throat] guy says perforated eardrums take a few weeks to self-heal. So there’ll be a lot of ‘pardon?’ and ‘what?’ from me between now and Christmas.”
Richard will next be seen in his daughter Chloe Madeley's new ITVBe show, A Family Affair.
The fitness trainer is now a success story in her own right, but grew up in the shadow of two hugely famous parents. For thinner skinned individuals, it wouldn’t be easy.
At the NTA’s in 2000, Judy’s top memorably popped open, exposing her bra onstage as she collected their award.
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That same year Richard - who once informed Great Britain he didn’t wear pants - dressed up as Ali G, and did that unforgettable impersonation.
For her part, Chloe and James gave an interview to Fabulous magazine, claimed she and her husband had sex “every day”. (As a result, James was dropped from his lucrative contract with Land Rover).
How did Richard feel reading about his daughter’s rampant sex life?
“People have sex and that’s going to include your kids,” he replies, looking utterly nonplussed.
“Why would I be embarrassed about reading a slightly salacious detail about her sex life?
“Granted, I wouldn’t linger over it. And once I realise where she’s going with it, I sort of skim over it a bit.”
Chloe chips in: “And for mum and dad’s stuff, the NTA’s and Ali G, I totally got it. It was fine! I wasn’t embarrassed.
“I mean, I went to school with Annie Lennox’s kid and loads of famous offspring - no-one gave a s*** about me. Dad and I are both unembarrassable.”
Chloe Madeley: A Family Affair starts Monday 9th October at 9pm on ITVBe.
