The star suffered a medical emergency in 2022
Homes Under the Hammer presenter Martin Roberts has said he “doesn’t know how long he has left” as he battles the ongoing effects of a serious heart condition. In April 2022, Martin was rushed to hospital with chest pains, where it was discovered he was suffering from pericardial effusion. He initially thought the chest pains were caused by long Covid.
Pericardial effusion is a build-up of fluid in the structure around the heart, which can compress the organ and cause a life-threatening medical emergency. Doctors warned him he would have had only a few hours to live if he didn’t have an emergency operation.
During an interview with OK! magazine, Martin recalled the terrifying moment doctors plunged an “eight-inch needle” into his chest. He said at the time: “It’s the nearest thing to not being here that has ever happened to me.”
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He continued: “It was a bit of an eye-opener to be honest, being three hours from death, that’s always going to ruin your day. I was told to slow down and really take things easy… so I bought a pub which needed complete renovating and which I’ve got to try and run, having no experience of running a pub, restaurant or a hotel.”
Martin took part in I’m A Celeb in 2016, coming in sixth place. He is also known for Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, Wish You Were Here…?, Ready Steady Cook and Celebrity MasterChef.
This week, the presenter told the Daily Mail that he “still gets twinges in his chest that causes him to panic”, but despite warnings from doctors, he refuses to slow down. He reportedly told the Mail he “doesn’t know how much time” he’s got left and is “trying to do as much good in the world as possible”.
Martin told MailOnline: “The physical side of things took a lot longer than we thought to get around. I still get twinges and every single time I get a twinge in my chest, I panic. As anyone who has had any kind of problems with their heart would attest to it.
‘It sends you into a flurry of worry because they only sort of dribble out these stories afterwards. It was like I went to see the consultant who did the emergency operation, and I said to him, “so how long would I have survived? He said, ‘well, you probably wouldn’t have made it through the night. So it was just as well I was on duty…you probably had maybe two or three hours to live.’
“That was two to three hours from dying and not being here and not seeing the kids anymore and not fulfilling all my ambitions and doing all the things I want to do. So that’s sort of the psychological side of that. It takes a lot longer to get over than the physical side.
“I was told I need to slow down and take things easy and all that kind of stuff, and I’ve gone a completely other way. This is why I’ve got this project in Wales where I’m renovating a pub, for the community, and we’re using local kids to do the work and bringing kids who are disengaged and disadvantaged, giving them a chance to get construction skills.
“Just doing lots of good. I don’t know how much time I’ve got left, so I just want to do as much as I possibly can to help. It’s not really about money. It’s about just making a difference, because that’s what you’ll be remembered for.”