I'm A Celeb Neil Ruddock's health scare and how Robbie Williams is helping him recover
Neil 'Razor' Ruddock has been trying to work on his health and fitness after being fitted with a pacemaker, and he is getting help from former Take That star Robbie Williams
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Former I'm A Celeb star Neil 'Razor' Ruddock has been battling ill health for a while.
The England football legend and I'm A Celebrity star recently had a pacemaker fitted after finding out that his heart rate was racing up to 150bpm - meaning he could have suffered a fatal heart attack at any time.
In a bid to stay healthy for his wife Leah and their children, the 52-year-old has been working on his fitness to try and slim down and has been ditching greasy fry-ups for healthier dining options.
MasterChef contestant Neil is also trying to cut back on boozing and cigarettes - after years of his party lifestyle contributing to his poor health - and has revealed that former Take That star Robbie Williams has offered to help.
The larger than life personality, who discovered his health woes after being checked out by a doctor while filming Harry's Heroes in 2019, revealed in a chat with OK! magazine that the Angels hitmaker has invited him stay with him across the pond in order to look at how Neil can change his life for the better.
Neil told the magazine: "I used to look after him when he was younger and he said he never forgot.
"He hasn’t drunk in so long and he is worried about me so he wants to get me out there for a week to give me some advice about how to live my life."
Neil previously revealed how he "died" on the operating table as medics gave him emergency heart surgery.
He was plunged into the life-or-death drama after doctors found his heart was beating twice as fast as it should have been prior to having his pacemaker fitted.
Before he could have the electrical impulse device put in his chest he had to have an operation whereby his heart was "zapped" several times.
However, his heart stopped during the procedure - known as a cardioversion - and he was "technically dead for several seconds".
He told the Daily Star: “Before I could get my pacemaker I had to have my heart zapped to slow it down.
“They zap it seven times. If your heartbeat doesn’t return to normal after seven times, you’re in trouble.
“Mine came back the third time they did it – but it stopped and I was technically dead for several seconds.”
He said: “They also found out my heart had been stopping for up to seven seconds every night.
“Just going up the stairs it must have been going at 140 or 150 beats a minute – that’s a workout rate. It’s gone back to 60, 70 or 80 beats now when resting.”
MirrorCeleb