Charlie Lawson has vowed to "re-assess" his life after suffering a mini stroke – because he doesn’t want to die.
The ‘Coronation Street’ character has seen a psychiatrist after experiencing a transient ischemic attack (TIA) on stage on the opening night of his portrayal of the titular inspector in play ‘Rebus’ last month, and admits the "shock" incident has been a "wake up call".
Getting upset while discussing the stroke, he said: "I don’t know why I get emotional talking about this but a psychiatrist said I need to talk about it. So I apologise, it’s quite difficult.
"When I finish the play I’m going to have to take some time just to re-assess my life, which is a shock really. Because you know I like life.
"I’ve been a rock ‘n’ roller. I have the constitution of a shorthorn steer. I’ve always been in charge of me. I’ve done things I shouldn’t have done and got away with it.
"I do have to re-assess the way I live my life. It sounds a bit up my own backside, but it’s the truth. I’ve had a warning.
"I will [take it easy]. I have to because I enjoy life too much. I don’t want to have a big stroke and curtains and all that. It’s a wake up – listen to your alarm bells, folks."
Charlie admitted his doctor asked him if he wanted to pull out of ‘Rebus’ before he took to the stage for the run after he diagnosed him with exhaustion, but he was determined to carry on.
He said: "I was diagnosed with exhaustion three weeks before and he said to me, ‘How do you feel about pulling out?’ I said, ‘I can’t do that, I’m Rebus.’
"Maybe it wouldn’t have happened. But you can’t do that in life, you have to carry on."
Charlie wasn’t sure why he has been so emotional while talking about his mini stroke, until a doctor told him that people can be left "disturbed" when things go wrong with their brain.
Speaking on ‘Good Morning Britain’, he added: "It wasn’t scary, I just knew something was desperately wrong, and 20 minutes later there I was having a cup of tea and I was fine.
"I had the heart thing, which was brilliant, the neck scan was fine, and the MRI scan showed I had a TIA.
"I spoke to this doctor and I said, ‘Why am I upset about this?’ He said, ‘You break your leg, you break your leg. If something goes wrong with a computer [points to his head] it can disturb you.’ "
Charlie Lawson vows to ‘re-assess life’ after stroke
