Bobby Davro shares health update six weeks after suffering ‘medical emergency’ moments after gig
The comic was unaware that his blood pressure had ‘gone through the roof’
COMIC Bobby Davro says having a stroke has taught him what’s important in life – and even healed a rift with comedy pal Brian Conley – but left him speaking like Jack Sparrow.
The ex-EastEnder, 65, lost feeling in the left side of his body, after receiving a standing ovation at a gig at Coulsdon Comedy Club in south London, in January.
He was raced to hospital where MRI scans confirmed a haemorrhagic stroke caused by a bleed on the brain.
Having to cancel upcoming gigs, fans were worried for Bobby, especially after the loss of his fiancee, Vicky Wright, last May.
Now daily “chair yoga” is aiding a speedy recovery – with the comedian back to performing and looking healthier than ever.
But in his first interview since falling ill after a gig six weeks ago, Eighties funnyman Bobby, 65, says: “It was a wake-up call, a warning, really, because my blood pressure was through the roof.
“I never had myself down for a stroke; heart attack or erectile dysfunction, perhaps,” he jokes, “but never a f**ing stroke because I always felt quite healthy.
“But what really got me through was all the love.
“It’s really put life into perspective because one of the best things to come of it has been hearing from people who haven’t been in touch.
“It makes you realise they do care.”
Famous pals rallied around, alongside Bobby’s family, including three daughters – Brittany, 29, Tierney, 28 and Marnie, 23.
But it was an out-of-the-blue call from former best pal Brian Conley, 62, that left him the most choked up.
Bobby says: “Brian Conley and I were best buddies for many years but we had a bit of a falling out a long time ago.
“It was over professional differences but it was quite painful at the time.
“It’s been 15 years since we were both doing a TV show together, for Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, so when he rang to ask how I was it was really touching.
“We all have our battles but hearing from him was a real tonic getting through this.
“Life is all about forgiveness.
“Bradley Walsh also called me up to wish me well. I think he was on a yacht somewhere in the Seychelles and there I was in hospital in Epsom,” Bobby laughs.
We’re a close family but this has definitely brought us closer. They’ve all been very worried
Bobby Davro
“My dearest Les Dennis also came and stayed over for a night and I cooked up steaks. I’m so blessed. That did me the world of good.”
Brother David, 70, sister Janine, 58, and ex-wife Trudi Jameson, 54, have also been paying regular visits to his flat in Epsom, Surrey.
Bobby says: “We’re a close family but this has definitely brought us closer. They’ve all been very worried.
“My kids are like, ‘Don’t you dare touch the fags, dad!’
“I’m being bossed around by everyone. It’s driving me up the f***ing wall!” he laughs.
“It was a bit scary. It still is. I know people can die from a stroke but I don’t dwell on that.
“I’m worried I could have another one though.
“I’ve told my family to surprise me if I die – but I think I want to be with my dad.
“I sprinkled his ashes in the pond at Wentwoth Golf Club and it’s my special place.”
Stroke struck after standing ovations
Recalling the moment Bobby took what he described as a “funny turn” on January 18th, he said: “Everything was going really well.
“My set had over-ran. I got two standing ovations.
“I remember feeling stressy that day because the phone was ringing a lot. I’d had three cigarettes before performing but I wasn’t nervous.
“There was no other sign of what was about to happen. I felt like I was flying on stage.
I said, ‘No, I can’t be having a stroke’
Bobby Davro
“When I came off I felt a bit hot. Then I noticed my left leg had gone a bit wonky and buckled.
“I remember hitting it on a chair and stumbling slightly. Two off-duty firemen saw it and helped me up some stairs to the dressing room.
“I wasn’t in any pain but I remember saying to my road manager Billy, ‘‘I don’t feel right’.
“Then my arm started feeling like it wasn’t attached to me and my little lip went down and I couldn’t speak properly to people backstage.
“I was slurring so much I started to sound like Jack Sparrow.
“I couldn’t get my hand in my jumper.
“The firemen recognised the signs and said ‘he’s having a stroke’. I said, ‘No, I can’t be having a stroke’.”
Bobby recalled: “Someone called for an ambulance and we were told it was going to be an hour so the firemen put me into my car and my friend Steph drove me to hospital.
“I had a CT scan which revealed a bleed on the right-hand side of the brain, which explained why I had lost sensation in the opposite side.
“I was told it had caused a stroke and that it was to do with having very high blood pressure, which I hadn’t realised I’d had before then.
“I kept thinking, ‘Well why is this happening to me?’ I had no pain.”
Over the next four days on a cardiac ward, he was often reminded of his late fiancee, Vicky, daughter of singer Joy Beverley of The Beverley Sisters and legendary Wolves and England footballer Billy Wright.
Vicky died of pancreatic cancer in a hospice on May 3 last year.
Bobby said: “The room was laid out exactly as Vicky’s was in her final weeks, so that was strange.
“Another spooky thing was getting these strange sensations in my body. I couldn’t help feeling that Vicky was there holding my hand.
“I could feel the ring on her fingers. I’ve not felt that feeling for over a year now.
“I’d like to think she was there to offer me comfort. I don’t have a faith but it felt spiritual.
“I also kept thinking my hand was in my pocket counting money – but my hand was nowhere near my pocket!”
Charismatic Bobby, who found nationwide fame during the Eighties with hit shows including Bobby Davro On The Box and Bobby Davro’s TV Annual, also has nothing but admiration for the NHS staff who helped him.
He insists the stroke is down to a combination of factors.
“Of course it was very stressful seeing Vicky so ill but it was also the fact I wasn’t taking care of myself.
“I wasn’t exercising and I’d not been smoking but started again and was getting through a packet every two days, at one point.”
During his time in hospital he was given physio to help regain the movement in the left hand side of his body.
I’d like to think [fiancée Vicky] was there to offer me comfort. I don’t have a faith but it felt spiritual
Bobby Davro
Despite looking a picture of health as we meet at Esher Theatre in Surrey, where Bobby has previously performed, he says he’s still working on his speech.
He says: “I sound fine to most people I think but when I get tired I notice the slur a bit.
“Now I’m what I call a sloppy person… SLOP in hospital stands for slow, loud, over articulate and pause and it’s how they’ve taught me to rebuild my speech.
“They’ve also given me a squishy stress ball to help get the movement back in my hands.
“They’ve not given me a prognosis. They’ve just seen what a quick recovery I’ve made.”
Bobby was also ordered to stop driving and recuperate for four weeks – during which time he had to cancel a string of gigs.
He’s now replaced grab-and-go curries and pub grub with healthy salads, walks daily in the Surrey countryside, has quit his favourite Sterling Dual menthol cigarettes and reduced booze to around a glass a week.
He chuckles: “I’ve been told to steer clear of Viagra of course!
“But I take my blood pressure three times a day now with a portable monitor because it was going up and down like a bride’s nightie.
“Now it’s normal again but I’m on one statin tablet a day and another for my blood pressure which I’ll have to take for the rest of my life.
He winks: “They’ve only given me six of them!
“I’m also doing chair yoga which I found on the internet. I’ll try and do it every day for stretching and mobility because I’m done with the gym. I’m too old!”
Bobby has gigs coming up this year, including at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
He adds: “2023 was s**t and 2024 hasn’t started well but I’m always glass half full.
“I now want to work with because my experience has shown me that a stroke can happen to anyone.
“I have to count my blessings.
“I’ve got to enjoy what I have because you never know when it’s going to be taken away.
“I’ll never stop performing because it’s what I love.”
ACT FAST
THE most common symptom of a haemorrhagic stroke is a sudden, severe headache, often called a thunderclap headache.
The acronym Act F.A.S.T can help you remember stroke signs:
Face – as their face fallen on one smile, can they smile?
Arms – can they raise both arms and keep them up?
Speech – is their speech slurred?
Time – time to call 999