The Chase’s Paul Sinha opens up about serious health scare: ‘The worst week of my life’
Paul Sinha has opened up about ‘the worst week of his life’ after a heart bypass operation (ITV/ Shutterstock)
The Chase star Paul Sinha, who is LGBTQ+, has opened up about ‘the worst week of his life’ and his recent bout of illness after being hospitalised in 2023.
Known on the ITV quiz show as ‘The Sinnerman’, Paul Sinha suffered two heart attacks during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August last year; he then had a heart bypass operation in December 2023.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain opposite co-hosts Charlotte Hawkins and Richard Madeley, Sinha, who also lives with Parkinson’s Disease, revealed that his hospital stay for the operation was “the worst week of my life.”
He explained: “It’s a busy 12 months, it’s been fine. But I had the worst week of my life in December being in hospital for a bypass operation. It was an extraordinarily dramatic week for me.
“You’ve got to keep fighting, keep battling, you don’t have any other options really. People often call you brave, I’m not brave, I’m just pragmatic, positive and try to keep going and keep going forward.”
Sinha added: “The medication is very important to do what your doctor tells you. Take it regularly.”
In a separate interview with The Telegraph, Sinha explained that performers need to look after themselves, rather than adhering to a the old adage ‘The show must go on’
“I should have taken a massive break but I continued to gig,” he said. “The reason I want to share my story is that I truly think performers need to think more about taking better and more holistic self-care of themselves.”
He added: “I don’t feel that I’ve completely recovered, nonetheless I have a very full diary indeed. The decision regarding Edinburgh relies on so many factors of which cardiac health is just one.
“Whatever happens, I will only return with a show that I’m proud of.”
Sinha also recently shared an anecdote about an awkward encounter he had during his time in hospital on his X account.
Sinha married his now-husband Oliver Levy in 2019, just months after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. In a blog post about the wedding ceremony, he wrote: “I [didn’t think] about my Parkinson’s once. All I thought was how lucky I was to have lived a life where my friends and family are amazing.”
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