FANS SHOCKED: Gogglebox Star Breaks Silence On COMA Nightmare And The Battle That Nearly COST His Life

A beloved member of the Gogglebox Malone family was previously left battling for his life in a coma after being struck down by a serious brain condition over 10 years ago. The family joined the popular Channel 4 show in 2014, featuring father Tom, mother Julie, and their sons Shaun and Tom Jr. Their daughter, Vanessa, has also appeared on screen numerous times over the years.

Since their first appearance, the family, along with their pack of Rottweiler dogs, have captured viewers’ hearts with their hilarious commentary, consistently bringing laughter to audiences at home. Although Tom Jnr left in 2021, the remaining family members have continued on their famous sofa, returning for the programme’s 26th series, which began last month. However, during Shaun’s teenage years, the family endured harrowing turmoil when he became critically ill and needed seven operations. Discussing the ordeal previously, Julie told The Mirror: “We were absolutely frantic.”

“The doctor said Shaun only had a slim chance of surviving surgery, that there were no beds available. Tom said I just went doolally, saying, ‘He’s going to be fine, he’s going to be fine’. Thankfully, Tom was level-headed and really pushed them.”

She further explained: “When a bed was finally found, Shaun spent six hours in surgery to remove a piece of bone from his skull because of the swelling. He was in a coma for two weeks, and when he came around, he had to learn to walk all over again.”

Miraculously, Shaun managed to make a full recovery. In 2020, Shaun reflected on the harrowing experience during an appearance on the Coaching From The Sofa podcast.

He detailed: “In 2010 I got sinusitis and in some way, the infection found its way back to my brain. My brain started swelling and my skull started crushing it so my mum took me to AandE saying, ‘Look he’s poorly!’ and they said it was sinusitis.

“And then I collapsed one day at home and I ended up going into a coma and they said to my mum and dad that I had a less than 10 per cent chance of living.”

He went on: “I was in a coma for a few weeks – and they said to my mum and dad, ‘Shaun’s got brain damage, we don’t know what the brain damage is or how it’ll affect him or if it’s going to be really bad.’”

Shaun disclosed: “And when I woke up my brain damage affected me in some ways, like my memory but mostly the way it affected me was with my left side. I essentially had a stroke, I couldn’t move my left arm, my left leg, even the left side of my face.”