Ted Robbins, the actor best known for playing Den Perry in Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights, is set to return to the stage 11 years after suffering a cardiac arrest during a live performance. The 70-year-old comedian and actor will headline The Don Banks Afternoon Variety Show on 1 July at Darwen Library Theatre in Lancashire.
Collapse and Resuscitation
In January 2015, during the opening night of the Phoenix Nights Live tour in Manchester, Robbins collapsed during a solo sketch. He was clinically dead for 15 minutes before being resuscitated by an off-duty cardiothoracic doctor and a paramedic who were in the audience. Reflecting on the incident, Robbins told BBC Radio Lancashire: "Without them, I'd have been a gone-r in minutes." He added that he had been due to have surgery for a faulty heart valve, caused by rheumatic fever he contracted at age 11, but the surgeon allowed him to perform because he wanted to do the show.
Recovery and Return
Robbins described the moment he collapsed: "I got up and I did get a few laughs and I just remember thinking 'ooh, think I'll lie down'." He later told The Mirror that the paramedic said his chances of survival were just 8%. During recovery, he lost 3 stone and quipped about his broken ribs and fractured sternum: "What's a few broken ribs, eh? I'm lucky to be here." Now, Robbins is hopeful for a "happier outcome" at his upcoming show, which will feature a smaller audience. "It's a smaller audience... but hopefully with a happier outcome," he said.
Career Highlights
Robbins is widely recognized for his role as Den Perry, the villainous owner of rival club The Banana Grove, in the popular sitcom Phoenix Nights, which aired from 2001 to 2002. He has also appeared in Brookside, Doctors, Holby City, Little Britain, and Coronation Street. The 2015 stage show reunited the original cast of Phoenix Nights, with profits going to Comic Relief.
