Telly legend Richard Wilson ‘suffered severe head injury’ after horror fall caused by his heart attack, docs say
His old friend and co-star Annette Crosbie is "keeping my fingers crossed"
ONE Foot In The Grave star Richard Wilson was left fighting for life in intensive care after a horror fall caused by his heart attack.
The actor, who turned 80 last month, was rushed to the Royal Free Hospital in London where doctors confirmed he had suffered a cardiac arrest.
Source said he has received specialist intensive care treatment after a severe head injury caused by a fall following the heart attack.
The Sun revealed yesterday that he was seriously ill in hospital.
Last night his close friend Annette Crosbie, who played his long-suffering onscreen wife Margaret Meldrew, sent her best wishes to her friend and said she was “keeping my fingers crossed”.
She told The Sun: “I heard the news when I went down the shops this morning, and though I’m taken aback, it doesn’t come as a total surprise because Richard has had angina for quite a few years.
“Let’s face it, we’re all heading in the same direction, and when you get to our age, it’s getting closer and closer.
“I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he’s going to be okay.”
Richard – who was made an OBE in 1994 – has suffered with angina for years and is being closely monitored by doctors.
The heart attack and fall comes just days before he had been due to reprise his role as rage-fuelled pensioner Victor Meldrew on stage in a one-man show in Edinburgh.
A source told The Sun: “Richard had a really nasty fall and hit his head.
“He was on life support in the hospital in the intensive care unit. He’s stable but very ill and in a serious condition. It’s been a very difficult time for his friends and family.”
Richard – famed for his exasperated “I don’t believe it” catchphrase – was due reprise his role as curmudgeon Victor Meldrew at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next Tuesday.
Now the sold out 12-date show I don’t Believe It! An Evening With Victor Meldrew has been axed.
While Richard won’t want to let his fans down, Annette doubts the shows will ever be performed.
Annette said: “It’s seems so poignant that he was about to play Victor Meldrew again, and I know these were going to be the funniest scripts of the lot.
“But I suppose it won’t happen now.
“It’s a shame because actors always like to go out with a round of applause.”
Despite their on screen marriage, the pair seldom saw each other in person in recent years.
Annette - awarded an OBE in 1998 for services to drama - said: “Richard is a totally different animal to me. He has always been very sociable and I am not.
“I’m a recluse by instinct and by practise.
“We keep in touch by chatting on the phone, and I always know what he is up to.”
Richard had decided to reprise the role for a one-man stage show last year, after a trial run at a one-off fundraiser at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, where he is associate director.
Despite reservations, he later declared: “I had a ball.”
The new show was to see him perform classic episode The Trial, from the sitcom’s fourth series, in which he was the only cast member.
The plot, watched by 18m when it was first broadcast in 1993, saw him passing time as he waited to be called for jury service.
It was then to be followed by a Q&A session with the audience. Richard had also revealed he wanted to take the show on tour around the UK.
One Foot In The Grave changed Richard’s life, winning him millions of fans and financial security.
He said earlier this month: “I suppose the novelty of ‘I don’t believe it!’ was rather amusing at first. And then it became rather boring.
"And then I just thought to myself, ‘Well, you’re never going to escape this, so you might as well accept it.’
"Victor did change my life. If I am walking down the street now and someone shouts it at me I just raise a hand and wave and walk on.”
Before his fall, Richard was looking forward to bringing back his most famous creation.
Last month he said: “I’ve always loved Victor, in a sense.
“But when (writer) David (Renwick) decided to kill him, I agreed that he probably should be killed.”
Talking about Victor’s one-night resurrection in Sheffield, Richard admitted he had been nervous of the comeback, saying: “That was my fear, of course – that it wasn’t going to work, that it would be dated.
"But according to the audience in Sheffield, he is. I explained when I came on stage that I thought I was too young for the television show – I was 55 and Victor was 60. I thought I wasn’t ready to play older people.
"And in Sheffield I said, ‘Now I’m far too old for the part!’ So I was trying to make apologies in advance. But the audience just responded brilliantly.
"It’s a well-written script, and that’s always going to be a joy to perform.”
He has also recently revealed that playing out the frustrated curmudgeon’s incredulous rage left him drained, saying: “It can be tricky returning to my normal, affable self after being Victor again, even if I’m only playing him for 30 minutes.”
Richard admitted he was only bringing the character back because of a lack of work.
He said: “Let’s be frank: one of the reasons I’m doing Victor is because nothing else is being offered. Older people don’t get employed.
“It’s always been said: television sucks you up and spits you out. I remember David saying to me on the show: ‘Remember this, because you’ll never have anything like this again.’”
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Fans were stunned when Richard came out as gay aged 76 after being listed in Time Out magazine’s 2013 list of influential gay people.
He was unaware he was due to be featured, but embraced it anyway. The only concern he’d had about being outed was whether his older sister, who still lives in Greenock, Scotland, might react.
He said: “I remember she said, ‘I knew you had a lot of gay friends!’”
Eight years ago he filmed a documentary called “Two Feet In The Grave”, in an effort to “de-terrorise” death which saw him visit undertakers and learn about embalming.
One Foot In The Grave ran for six series and several Christmas specials from 1990 until 2000, before Victor was killed in a road accident in November 2000.
One Foot In The Grave won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy in 1992, while Richard picked up two BAFTAs for Best Light Entertainment Performance in 1992 and 1994.
It also won British Comedy Award for Best Sitcom in 1992, 1995 and 2001.
The actor’s agent John Grant said: “Richard Wilson suffered a heart attack.
“He is in hospital and in a stable condition. At the request of family members there will be no more comment at this time.”