Diane Morgan has revealed how her new BBC comedy Ann Droid may have saved the life of Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas.
How the show taught the Heimlich manoeuvre
In the six-part series, Morgan plays an outdated robot named Linda who performs the Heimlich manoeuvre when a character chokes. Safety experts were brought in to teach the correct technique, observed by the crew and production team.
Morgan told This Morning: "They had to teach me the Heimlich manoeuvre. And then that evening, our gaffer went out to dinner, and his friend started choking. And because he'd seen me doing the Heimlich manoeuvre on set, he did it on his friend and the food shot out of his mouth. Saved his life. And then Shirley Ballas's life."
Shirley Ballas's choking ordeal
In November, Ballas choked on a fish bone backstage at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool. Her make-up artist Jane Burstow performed the Heimlich manoeuvre, dislodging the bone. Ballas said she could not breathe for 20 minutes and called it "terrifying."
Ballas said: "I choked on a fish bone. It got lodged in my throat, and my wonderful Jane, who has been with me for nine years, did the Heimlich manoeuvre, and we got the bone out. But for 20 minutes there, it was lodged and I couldn't breathe so it was terrifying. We'd have been a judge down tonight if it wasn't for her."
Ballas vowed to learn the manoeuvre herself, saying: "I'm going to study now in case I ever come across anybody who needs my help."
Paul Ready, who plays Michael in Ann Droid, confirmed that Burstow had watched the Heimlich training on set before saving Ballas.
