James Arthur feared he would die on stage after falling ill on his European tour

X Factor winner James Arthur was so overwhelmed with anxiety after falling ill during his European tour earlier in the year, he feared he would die onstage.

He initially believed he was unwell with the flu, however, it transpired he actually had a gallbladder infection and required emergency surgery.

The 32-year-old told BBC Newsbeat: "I had really bad anxiety. I thought I was gonna die on stage, it was weird."

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As a result, the rest of the tour had to be postponed while he underwent treatment and recovery.

However, he managed to complete scheduled dates in the UK and Ireland before the coronavirus lockdown began

"I did manage to do my arena tour, but it took a month of intensive therapy for me to get right to get back on stage. So yeah, it was a bit of a mad time," he shared.

Arthur, who asserted he was now "absolutely fine", saw his subsequent US tour postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Say You Won't Let Go hitmaker is one of a number of celebrities giving themselves new looks in lockdown, revealing at the beginning of April that he'd shaved off his hair in "a moment of madness".

As he showcased his new look and explained how it came about by accident, he then went on to say he'd donated £5,000 to the NHS.

“So I was trying to give my self a little trim up in a state of pure cabin fever, it wasn’t going so well so In a moment of sheer madness I decided to do something I’ve never dared to do before and shave my head for the NHS and donate 5k,” he wrote.