Craig Charles is returning to TV screens this weekend and has experienced his fair share of heartache over the years
Craig Charles is about to grace TV screens this weekend during an appearance of Jeremy Clarkson’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, where he’ll be taking part in the celebrity special on Saturday (August 23) at 7:30pm.
In 2014, Craig took part in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! but sadly his time on the ITV programme was cut short for a tragic reason.
The 61-year-old, who first rose to fame on the sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf, joined the Coronation Street cast in 2005 as the much-loved taxi driver Lloyd Mullaney. He remained in his role for a decade before he decided it was time to flee the nest for good and didn’t explain until years later his actual reasons for calling time on the cobbles.
Given Craig’s recent television appearance we couldn’t help but glance back at the Liverpool actor’s off-screen life and all of the personal hurdles he has overcome.
Tragic reason for Corrie exit
Craig didn’t open up about his real reason for leaving Corrie for some years later(Image: ITV)READ MORE: Coronation Street to welcome new family who will run Rovers ReturnREAD MORE: Red Dwarf legend gives health update and worried fans give support
Back in 2011 Craig announced that he would be taking some time out from his Coronation Street role to re-join the cast of Red Dwarf as Dave Lister – but later returned to the ITV soap until 2015.
“I have had an absolutely fantastic 10 years on Coronation Street and I will be very sad to leave,” announced the actor when he revealed he was heading back into outer space during an appearance on This Morning.
He added: “Lloyd has become a huge part of my life and I have made some amazing friends with whom I will always keep in touch. But I feel I owe it to my colleagues on Red Dwarf to join them in filming the new series and finding out what is in store.”
However, it wasn’t just wanting to join his former castmates that caused him to jump ship. In 2014 and while Craig was taking part in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, he was tragically told that his brother Dean had suffered a cardiac arrest and had passed away.
His brother’s death was a complete shock and really opened his eyes up to how precious life is. In an interview with OK! Magazine he confessed: “My brother died when I was on I’m a Celeb. He was only 52. I thought, ‘If I died suddenly, would I be happy with what I’d achieved?’
“The honest answer was no. So I promised myself I’d have new adventures. I wouldn’t have been able to do half the stuff I’ve done if I’d stayed in Coronation Street.”
Life-saving surgery
Craig Charles had to undergo life-saving surgery himself
After losing his brother to a heart attack , Craig was rushed to the hospital after showing the signs of having a cardiac arrest himself. Despite the severity of his condition – the same condition that killed his brother in 2014 – the Red Dwarf actor found some light during the frightful ordeal.
Speaking about his health scare with the Daily Mail, he said: “God must have smiled at me. They got me to the hospital in time.”
He further recalled to the same publication: “I was sweating, but I was also really cold, and my teeth were tingling. My wife Jackie was in Ireland visiting her family so I went to bed and phoned her. Jackie’s sister-in-law is a nurse and she said, ‘Get him to hospital – now!’ But I wouldn’t go on my own.”
Craig added: “Jackie came back to England the next morning, saw me and immediately phoned 999. They said, ‘The ambulance is on its way – what colour is he?’
“Jackie looked at me and said, ‘Well, he’s brown.’ I was having a heart attack and laughing at the same time.”
After suffering a heart attack, Craig was offered micro-surgery that involved putting a tube up his wrist.
He told the same publication: “They went through my wrist into my heart. Put a tube in, then a balloon, pumped it up then put four stents in.”
Dangerous Corrie stunts
Craig joined the Coronation Street cast in 2005 as the much-loved taxi driver Lloyd Mullaney(Image: ITV)
Coronation Street’s Sue Cleaver once shared how she’d once got carried away on set and ‘almost killed’ her fellow cast members Simon Gregson and Craig during filming.
Sue was best known for playing the role of Eileen Grimshaw, alongside Craig and Simon, but recalled one “violent” moment when she thought she’d caused some serious harm to her co-stars.
Discussing the moment on This Morning, she reminisced: “I remember in the early days when you slapped someone – you used to do it. Now, you’ve got stunt people in and it’s all magic but we used to do it.”
The actress added: “I remember banging Steve McDonald and Craig [Charles]’s heads together and there was an almighty bang. Honestly, I nearly killed them. I got carried away.”
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire will air on ITV1, from 7:30pm, on Saturday 23 August.