Comedian Paul Merton has opened up about finding love with his third wife, Suki Webster, just six months after the death of his second wife, Sarah Parkinson, from breast cancer in 2003. The Have I Got News For You star admitted he was not looking for a new relationship at the time.
Merton, 67, met Webster during a Comedy Store Players tour of India. Both were suffering from food poisoning and struck up a conversation while watching a magician in a dimly lit bar. He recalled: 'You don’t think anything except, this is great fun. You don’t think, ‘oh, is this right or wrong?’ It felt natural.'
His second wife, Sarah Parkinson, was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer before their wedding and died just three months after they married, aged 41. Merton sought solace in comedy, attending a Comedy Store performance six days after her death, describing laughter as 'the release, the relief'.
Merton has also spoken about his mental health struggles, including a breakdown in the late 1980s that led to a six-week stay in the Maudsley psychiatric hospital. Despite the difficulties, he maintains a sense of humour about the experience, noting that his concerns about a cancelled TV series seemed trivial compared to others' problems.
The comedian, who adopted the stage name Merton early in his career, rose to fame on Whose Line Is It Anyway? in 1988 and has been a regular on Have I Got News For You since 1990. He and Webster have been married for over a decade and continue to perform together with the Comedy Store Players.
