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'Coronation Street's' Charlie Lawson 'lucky to be alive' after suffering a stroke

Charlie Lawson has revealed that he is "very lucky" to be alive after suffering a stroke (Photo: Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage)
Charlie Lawson has revealed that he is "very lucky" to be alive after suffering a stroke (Photo: Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage)

Former Coronation Street actor Charlie Lawson believes he’s “very lucky to be alive” after suffering a stroke.

The actor, who became a household name playing the role of Jim McDonald in the ITV soap, suffered a stroke during a play he was starring in, in Edinburgh in 2018.

Appearing on RTE’s Radio 1's Ray D'Arcy Show, Lawson explained that he started to feel unwell during a scene for the detective mystery Rebus: Long Shadows.

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"It was October 13 it happened. About three weeks prior to that I'd been diagnosed with exhaustion. Rebus was a monumental part; it was 108 pages - and I was in 108 of them,” he recalled.

“Several things happened in Birmingham while we were getting ready to open, which I allowed get to me, and I hadn't really slept for about six or seven weeks.”

Speaking of the fateful evening, Lawson revealed that he began to notice something was wrong when everything went blue and he went deaf.

Not realising what was happening, Lawson added that the next thing he knew, he was in the wings before the feeling passed.

It wasn’t until he got to the hospital that the doctors informed him that he had suffered a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) otherwise known as a mini stroke.

Charlie is best known for playing Jim McDonald in Coronation Street (Photo: ITV)
Charlie is best known for playing Jim McDonald in Coronation Street (Photo: ITV)

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“Off to hospital, heart was fine, all the arteries, bowel, major stuff. And then into the scan for the MRI and out I came the other side and they said: 'Yep, you've had a TIA’ [Transient Ischemic Attack]”

After receiving the shocking news, Lawson revealed that he was given a wake up call to look after himself.

"What I've learned from it really is just to respect my life a bit more,” he said.

“Look, I'm no advert for healthy living for God's sake! Everybody knows I've had a life-and-a-half and I still love red wine, I still love fine food. But I don't ignore my alarm bells and I have a bit more respect for my life than I had before.”