Ricky Gervais has told how he thought he was ‘going to die’ after he almost choked on a smoothie.
The actor, 59, sent his partner Jane Fallon into a panic when he couldn’t breath after taking a gulp of a smoothie in a hotel where he was filming his Netflix series After Life.
Speaking to The Mirror, he said: ‘I was just going down to the hotel to film After Life and I had a smoothie. I must have coughed or breathed, and then I couldn’t breathe.
Scare: Ricky Gervais has told how he thought he was ‘going to die’ after he almost choked on a smoothie (pictured in January 2020)
‘I started choking and I couldn’t breathe and my throat closed up and I went on the floor. Jane was worried – and then eventually I got a little bit of air in.
‘It was f*****g horrible. I thought I was going to die. That’s the closest I’ve come to dying… and it was drinking – drinking a smoothie.’
Despite the ordeal, Ricky has not been put off the drinks and reckons they will make up an important part of his diet when he is older if his ‘teeth fall out’.
Ricky, who plays a suicidal widower in After Life, admitted he often thinks about death and wants his epitaph to read: ‘He was fat and he was funny… and then he died.’
Yikes: The actor, 59, sent his partner Jane Fallon into a panic when he couldn’t breath after taking a gulp of a smoothie in a hotel where he was filming his Netflix series After Life
It comes after Jane detailed the couple’s lives before Ricky became famous, and spoke about how she feels about going from having no money to being rich.
Speaking on Loose Women, she said: ‘It’s kind of weird. Apart from living in a beautiful house, I try to ignore it.
‘As long as it gives you pleasure and make use of it, that’s fine. But I think to some people it just becomes a prison.’
‘As long as it gives you pleasure and make use of it, that’s fine. But I think to some people it just becomes a prison.’
Ricky said: ‘It was f*****g horrible. I thought I was going to die. That’s the closest I’ve come to dying… and it was drinking – drinking a smoothie’
She went on: ‘We went through a few years when we had absolutely no money. We lived above a brothel. It was horrendous.
‘I had many many Saturday jobs. I worked in a book shop, but all sorts of different shops. I was a chambermaid in various hotels. I loved that job. It was quiet, you were on your own.’
The comedian achieved mainstream fame with his BBC television mock documentary series, The Office in 2001.
Jane also detailed what lockdown life has been like for her and Ricky, as she admitted to finding it difficult with the comedian being around so much.
‘He’s like a Fisher Price toy, making random noises all over the place,’ she claimed.
Candid: Jane previously detailed the couple’s lives before Ricky became famous, and spoke about how she feels about going from having no money to being rich
‘I need complete silence when I work. It’s hard when the two of us are at home. I have to take myself into another room.’
The couple have been together since 1982 but previously told The Times they decided not to marry because ‘there’s no point in us having an actual ceremony before the eyes of God because there is no God’.
Earlier this year, Ricky revealed the third series of After Life will be the last of the hit Netflix sitcom.
Two series of the dark comedy have been released so far, both to widespread acclaim from critics and viewers.
Struggle: Jane explained: ‘We went through a few years when we had absolutely no money. We lived about a brothel. It was horrendous’ (pictured with Ricky in January)
But earlier this year Ricky told The Mirror: ‘I’ve already made my mind up there won’t be a fourth series.
‘And you do put those things out there to make you remember as it’s tempting but… there’s an old saying that “to lead the orchestra, you’ve got to turn your back on the audience”.
‘That’s true. The audience think they want another one, but they’re not sure. So you’ve got to be careful.’
Back at work: Earlier this year, Ricky revealed the third series of After Life will be the last of the hit Netflix sitcom