Robert Webb has discussed his life-changing heart surgery while his comedy partner David Mitchell admitted he was daunted when his pal was diagnosed.
Speaking in the latest issue of Radio Times, the Peep Show stars, aged 48 and 46 respectively, detailed the trauma as they prepare for the return of Channel 4 black comedy Back, with both speaking about how they were impacted.
Robert underwent surgery in October 2019 after a routine medical check on the set of Back revealed he had a prolapse in his heart, which doctors said ‘would fail’ within two to six months, leading to his emergency open-heart surgery.
On the prospect of losing his friend, David said: ‘It’s always easier to be nice about Rob to other people, so I can say to you that Rob’s heart operation has reminded me how grateful I am to have him in my life.’
Tough times: Robert Webb has discussed his life-changing heart surgery while his comedy partner David Mitchell admitted he was daunted when his pal was diagnosed
Robert and David met in 1993 while both studying at Cambridge before going on to form Mitchell and Webb, the comedy act that saw them enjoy huge success with Peep Show and now with Back, in its second series.
The duo have now discussed Robert’s terrifying health scare, as Robert candidly admitted he ‘had been dreading’ the show medical, which would eventually save his life, yet was in denial about the results.
Robert’s diagnosis was for a Mitral valve prolapse (MVP), which occurs when the small flap in the heart that stops blood flowing the wrong way becomes too floppy and does not close properly.
Many people with MVP have no symptoms and the condition is only spotted during a heart scan that is carried out for another reason.
Worried: Speaking in the latest issue of Radio Times, the Peep Show stars, aged 48 and 46 respectively, detailed the trauma as they prepare for the return of Channel 4 black comedy Back, with both speaking about how they were impacted (pictured in February last year)
Pained: Robert underwent surgery in October 2019 after a routine medical check on the set of Back revealed he had a prolapse in his heart, which doctors said ‘would fail’ within two to six months, leading to his emergency open-heart surgery
He said: ‘Honestly, I’d been dreading the show’s medical, which isn’t the attitude of a healthy person…
‘I’d assumed the pains I’d been experiencing were simply what it is to be 47 – and still caning the fags and booze, not doing any exercise and eating badly.’
On how their relationship changed when he suffered his medical crisis, he said: ‘Our relationship was pretty close and gentle by then…
‘He didn’t need me to nearly die to appreciate me, although we’ve had our moments.’
Speaking about their incredibly close working relationship, he said: ‘Between about 2005 and 2007, David was the first vertical person I saw in the morning and the last at night. We got through it by not having The Row…
‘If we’d had The Row, things would’ve been said that couldn’t be unsaid, which would have been a great pity for our friendship and our careers…
‘What we had was rare and needed looking after….
‘We played nicely through the intense bit, even when we couldn’t stand the sight of each other. Now I get the chance to miss him and it’s a pleasure to see him.’
After continuing filming for a week after his diagnosis, Robert says now that he looks at Back he can see how ill he looked and how much he’s recovered.
He said: ‘The continuity with my face on Back is interesting. In the rough edit I look bloated and pasty, knowing I’m about to have a heart attack…
‘Four months after the op, there’s a difference in pallor…
‘My heart has gone back to the right size and shape after doing extraordinary things to keep the show on the road. Back saved my life.’
David spoke about how he kept positive when his friend came to him with the news and how he is happy things have changed in Robert’s life.
He said: ‘Robert told me early on in filming. He knocked on the door of my trailer and said, “I need to have a word”…
‘It was very worrying news and I went into denial. It allowed me to think he was effectively having antibiotics and he’d be fine….
‘The fact that the “antibiotic” was open-heart surgery, I pushed from my mind. The balance of probabilities favoured his being OK, so I clung to that…
‘It’s how I weathered the stress… And it’s gone so well – I was aware he wasn’t living the healthiest of lives, so I’m pleased he’s living a healthy life now.’
Scary: He said: ‘The continuity with my face on Back is interesting. In the rough edit I look bloated and pasty, knowing I’m about to have a heart attack’ (pictured in 2015)
The latest issue of Radio Times is on newsstands now
Discussing his own personality and kindness, he said: ‘I seldom do nasty things, but I seldom do nice things either…
‘I’m not often kind, I don’t reach out warmly to friends or do things that make it clear I value them…
‘But equally I don’t tend to do annoying things. I’m cold but even-tempered, like a relatively safe snake. I find paying compliments extremely difficult…
‘I’m aware it’s an important thing to compliment a performer and I’m all right at doing that, but I find saying someone’s a nice person very difficult.’
He went on: ‘I don’t think it’s really caused me to reassess, though – I can’t isolate the extent to which my feeling of unease is down to Rob being ill or millions of other people being ill, and I’m aesthetically and temperamentally opposed to the idea of new starts. I’m all about adjustment and incremental change.’
The latest issue of Radio Times is on newsstands now
Worrying: Discussing his own personality and kindness, he said: ‘I seldom do nasty things, but I seldom do nice things either. I’m not often kind, I don’t reach out warmly to friends or do things that make it clear I value them’