Tim Healy is returning to ‘Benidorm’, after nearly losing his life to a mystery illness.
The actor, who plays Les (and indeed Leslie) on the ITV sitcom, was forced to pull out of filming for the ninth series earlier this year, when he was rushed to hospital.
However, his co-stars Janine Duvitski and Tony Maudsley have claimed Tim is “on the mend”, and will return for series 10, which is due to shoot next year.
Speaking to Bang Showbiz, Tony, who plays hairdresser Kenneth, said: “He was in hospital in Spain but he’s on the mend now because we know he’s coming back for series 10.
“Series 10 has been confirmed, Tim’s been confirmed. So he’s definitely on the mend.”
Janine - better known as sex addict Jacqueline - added: “I saw Tim because I’m rehearsing an episode of ‘Open All Hours’. So I saw him last week and he’s lost a lot of weight, he was really poorly.
“He said it’s not a good way of losing a lot of weight but he’s back working now. He’s back at work anyway. He just looks different.”
When his undisclosed illness was first reported, an insider told The Mirror: “Tim has been in a bad way for a while and had to pull out of filming Benidorm. He was in hospital for three and a half weeks, and at one point he was fighting for his life.
Tim first joined ‘Benidorm’ in 2010, and has since gone on to become one of the show’s most popular characters.
He was previously best known for his leading role in ‘Auf Wiehdersen, Pet’, but has also appeared in ‘Coronation Street’, and, more recently, ‘Still Open All Hours’.
The ninth series of ‘Benidorm’ is due to air in 2017.
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