Bob Mortimer made honest admission about death after he saw ‘the light’ following life-saving heart surgery
A lot of people who claim to have had a near-death experience have described being drawn to 'a bright light' - and Bob Mortimer is no different.
The TV star, 65, revealed that's exactly what he witnessed when his heart stopped beating for a whopping 32 minutes in 2015.
He underwent life-saving surgery a decade ago after suffering from heart problems, with doctors discovering that 95% of his arteries were blocked.
Mortimer had a triple bypass to remedy this issue, during which he had a brush with death that he said completely changed his perspective on life.
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The comedian has also been candid with fans about his other health struggles, such as his battle with rheumatoid arthritis and how shingles left him wheelchair-bound.
He's been through the wringer, that's for sure - but the silver lining is, Mortimer 'no longer fears death' due to all of his experiences.
The Gone Fishing star opened up about what happened when his heart stopped for more than half an hour while he was on the operating table on Kathy Burke's Where There's A Will, There's A Wake podcast.
"I did see the light at the end of the tunnel," he previously told the Kevin and Perry actress. "I experienced going towards the light and feeling happier than I have ever felt, ever.
"It was quite extraordinary, and then I woke up a day later and I was OK. I thought, 'This is great. I no longer fear death and everything'."
Discussing how his opinion on meeting his maker one day had changed, Mortimer added: "I don’t feel scared about death, I just feel so frustrated and sad to think I won’t see how stories end.
"My children’s story. My wife’s. The football. All the stories going on in the world that you’re going to miss the end of."
He admitted that he was 'a bit sad' when 'loads of people wrote to him' to explain that seeing a bright light was probably down to a surge of brain waves people near death often experience.
"It’s because your body gives out loads of PCT, some chemical to get you through that and it gives you these hallucinations," Mortimer added. "I was a bit sad about that."
Just 30 minutes before he went in for the make-or-break heart surgery in 2015, Mortimer quickly married his long-term partner Lisa Matthews because he was 'incredibly ill'.
"I got married at half 9 on the Monday then went into hospital for the operation at 10," he said previously.
Mortimer also had a worrying health scare a few years back when he was diagnosed with shingles, which is a painful condition caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox.
He reckons that this period was even worse than his heart woes, explaining he thinks he lost up to 20 percent of the muscle mass in his legs due to the illness.
Speaking to his pal Paul Whitehouse on their show Gone Fishing, Mortimer said: "It's been a very, very, very unhealthy year for me, with my shingles.
"It was the worst health year of my life to be honest and you know what, it was worse than my heart period.
"At the moment the consultant saying I'm heading for 80% muscle recovery in my leg and she said, 'You'll just have to see what that means for you'.
"The muscles I've lost, I've lost…But other ones can compensate for it, you know what I mean?
"I can make the other muscles stronger, but I have a terrible feeling I'm never going to be able to run again - and you know that I used to like to run."
Mortimer is doing much better these days and has been back doing what he does best - making people laugh.
He has been praised for his comedy by viewers of Amazon Prime's new show, Last One Laughing, who were left very impressed by how long he managed to keep a straight face for.
Olivia Burke