BBC star Kerry Wilson, who once appeared on a Jonathan Ross show, has tragically passed away from flu at the age of 56. Kerry sadly died on Friday 3 January after being placed into an induced coma from which she never recovered. She first rose to fame as the inaugural winner of Bob Says Opportunity Knocks in 1987 and later featured on The Jonathan Ross Big Talent Show and Talking Telephone Numbers. The entertainer, hailing from Trentham, also had stints on Who Do You Do? and Summertime Special.
Kerry even dabbled in acting, playing Cheryl Colclough on BBC Radio Stoke’s debut soap opera. Her heartbroken mum, who had Kerry when she was just 16, described her as her “best friend”. “It was very sudden. She’s never been in the hospital in her life; no major health issues or anything like that.”, reports the Mirror.
Linda told StokeonTrentLive. “But then this new flu came along. It’s been devastating. You just don’t expect it – everyone gets flued up every winter. She told me she felt a bit sniffly. As mothers do, I said to her, ‘Why don’t you ring 111?’ By the weekend, she didn’t feel any better so she gave them a call.”
Linda revealed that Kerry had a GP appointment “straight away” due to low oxygen levels and within 12 hours, she was put into a coma and on a ventilator. Kerry was diagnosed with influenza A and her family believed she was on the mend. Tragically, Kerry developed sepsis, a life-threatening response to an infection as defined by the NHS, which occurs when your immune system overreacts to an infection and begins to harm your own body’s tissues and organs.
Linda revealed: “A little while later she was gone. It was really rapid and totally unexpected.” Kerry was surrounded by her loved ones when she passed away. Her mum, Linda, heartbreakingly admitted that she had lost a child before and “never thought it would happen again”.
(Image: (Image: Shutterstock))
Despite her sorrow, Linda is eager to honour Kerry’s life, talents, and personality. She described her daughter as a “local celebrity” who was “a comedian, an impressionist, a singer, and an all-round entertainer”. Linda praised Kerry as a “beautiful person inside and out” who brought joy to everyone. The grieving mum hopes that by sharing Kerry’s story, more people will get their flu jabs.
“Kerry didn’t have the vaccine this year. I pushed her, but she didn’t go out a lot and the last time she had it made her feel unwell, so she decided not to bother. Her friends all went along to the chemist yesterday to get one,” Linda shared.
Kerry made her television debut at just 19-years-old on Bob Says Opportunity Knocks, a revamped version of the classic talent show Opportunity Knocks that launched stars including Lena Zavaroni, Les Dawson and Paul Daniels, and went on to win the show when it was hosted by presenter Bob Monkhouse.
View news Source: https://www.ok.co.uk/tv/bbc-star-who-appeared-jonathan-34459981
