Kerry Wilson: Star of 'Bob Says Opportunity Knocks,' dies 'suddenly' aged 56 after flu leads to coma

The Trentham-born star won the inaugural edition of Bob Says Opportunity Knocks in 1987. Just before the New Year, Kerry complained of feeling “a bit sniffly,” but her condition quickly worsened. She fell into a coma, and on January 3, her family made the heartbreaking decision to switch off her life support - nearly 30 years to the day since the death of her younger brother.

Her mother, Linda Burns, told Stoke-on-Trent Live: “She was my best friend. I was only 16 when I had Kerry. What’s tragic is she had a younger brother, just two years apart in age. He died in January as well, 30 years ago when he was just 24. I feel absolutely heartbroken that not just one, but both of my children are gone.

“Kerry was very young, very lively. It was very sudden. She’s never been in the hospital in her life; no major health issues or anything like that. But then this new flu came along. It’s been devastating. You just don’t expect it – everyone gets flued up every winter.

“She told me she felt a bit sniffly. As mothers do, I said to her, ‘Why don’t you ring 111?’ By the weekend, she didn’t feel any better, so she gave them a call. They made her an appointment with a GP straight away because her oxygen levels were right down. Within 12 hours she was in a coma, placed on a ventilator.”

Kerry’s career included a stint as Cheryl Colclough on BBC Radio Stoke’s first soap opera in 1991. She later appeared on The Jonathan Ross Big Talent Show and Talking Telephone Numbers in the late 1990s. Known for her talent in musical impressions, she performed as icons like Aretha Franklin, Lisa Stansfield, and Alanis Morissette.

Linda recalled the heartbreaking moments leading to Kerry’s passing, saying: “We thought she was starting to recover, but then she contracted sepsis. A little while later she was gone. It was really rapid and totally unexpected. We were with her. Her family were at her side when they switched the machine off.

“I’ve experienced losing a child before, but I never thought it would happen again. The grief was unreal. There’s a quote I’ve always had in life to all the mothers out there: ‘If you think giving birth is painful, giving them back is excruciating.’”