Michael Barrymore health update: TV star reveals he's been diagnosed with epilepsy after suffering mini stroke

The former television presenter took to social media, where he has built a following with Gen Z fans on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, to reveal his latest health update. Michael, 73, said in a series of photographs posted in a TikTok video: “I developed epilepsy at 73...

“A mini stroke caused me to develop epilepsy where I have uncontrollable seizures. I suffer from cluster seizures, which affects a quarter of people with epilepsy. It means I have more than one, usually three individual seizures in a short period of time.

“It's scary because there's a 40% chance of going into epilepticus which causes brain damage and death without prompt medical attention. I've had several attacks this year and have emergency medication at home if I go into a seizure. It doesn't really affect my life otherwise, but it would be nice to talk with other sufferers on here about it.”

Michael shared the update video to his 3.8m followers on TikTok. His comments were inundated with messages of support from fans.

One person said: “Fellow epileptic here who just wants to say THANK YOU for using your platform to talk about this.”

Another person said: “Well done for talking about this Michael!!!♥️💪🏻so sorry for what you’ve been through.” While another fan added: “Sorry to hear this Michael sending you so much love.”

Michael was one of the biggest television presenter on the screen throughout the late 1980s until the early 2000s. His career in television ground to a halt in 2003, when Stuart Lubbock was found dead in his swimming pool during a party at his Essex home. Police launched probes into the death and investigated Barrymore, with these lines of investigation later dropped.

He returned to screens in 2006, joining Celebrity Big Brother. He placed runner-up on the series and went on to appear on shows such as Celebrity Come Dine With Me, Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, and Dancing On Ice.