02 January 2024 , 23:49
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Iolo Williams is set to make a return to TV screens following his heart attack.
The presenter had to pull out of Springwatch last year after sharing a startling health update with his followers. He revealed he had a stent fitted but faced further complications that meant he couldn't return to work on the nature show. The 61-year-old is now ready to join co-stars Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan for the latest series of Winterwatch.
The BBC programme will take place at the RSPB Arne in Dorset. Iolo is said to be filming four nights of live shows documenting nature in the area. Last month, Iolo opened up on how he suffered his heart attack alone while on one of his six-mile runs in the Welsh countryside.
Iolo had to pull out of Springwatch after suffering a heart attack and further health complications (BBC)He admitted he knew straight away he was suffering a heart attack while a mile and half away from his car and phone. Speaking to The Mirror, Iolo said: “It came like a bolt out of the blue. I knew what it was – intense pain under my sternum. It was a heart attack. And I thought well, I can’t go down here!
"So I walked on, crouched a little bit every now and again when the pain got a little bit worse. Got to my car, phoned for an ambulance and they said it would be 90-odd minutes. So my wife, Ceri, came down, drove me to hospital and from then on I was in the hands of the NHS. They were superb.”
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He continued: “I’m not overweight, I’ve never smoked, I’m a social drinker. So it must have been some kind of fault that was in me anyway – but then why didn’t it manifest itself earlier? I just don’t know. Maybe getting older and still trying to push my body wasn’t the wisest thing to do but it’s a run I’ve done twice a week for 15 years. The doctors were as mystified as I am.”
In May 2023, Iolo returned to filming after he had surgery to fit a stent. However, the presenter was unable to put a seatbelt on as he sat in the passenger seat of a car. “I couldn’t understand why. The driver was asking what’s the matter and I couldn’t communicate. So they rushed me to hospital 10 minutes away and injected some high-level aspirin in liquid form," he told us.
It is believed the stent operation may have led to a clot in his bloodstream. Iolo took to his social media to share a selfie taken in the hospital which showed him connected to an ECG machine. He said: "Unfortunately I can’t co-present @BBCSpringwatch this year. I had a stent inserted in April, which released a clot, that, this week, caused an embolism!
"My demise has been greatly exaggerated; thanks to brilliant friends, wonderful family & the excellent @ NHS. Go Megan & team SW!." Opening up on the experience, Iolo explained: “People say it must have been scary. Not for me. Not at all. I knew it was my heart and I knew what I had to do. And then when the embolism struck, there was nothing I could do. It was an out-of-body experience in a way"