26 January 2023 , 14:16
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Christopher Maloney had a terrifying brush with death as he was struck down by a parasite which caused his organs to shut down.
The X Factor star, 45, was in hospital for almost two weeks and has now been left with a lifelong condition after ordering a Chinese takeaway.
Christopher treated himself to the meal after celebrating his birthday on Boxing Day with his panto cast in 2019.
He starred as Prince Charming in pantomime Cinderella at Bradford Playhouse.
However, Christopher was struck down with Campylobacter E-Coli by the contaminated food, which in some cases can be lethal.
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Christopher Maloney had a terrifying brush with death in December 2019 (Christopher Maloney)Christopher's body began reacting to the lethal bacteria in a matter of hours.
He explained to the Mirror: "I ended up only eating the crispy duck and pancakes at about 7 o'clock.
"Then around 12.30am that was it, everything went downhill, I was literally on the floor and in the toilet, I was ill, it was just horrendous.
"I had fever, I had hallucinations and I couldn't sleep because I was constantly going to the toilet and vomiting, it was just horrendous."
Christopher was taking part in a panto when disaster struck (Christopher Maloney)He continued to perform over fears he would "let people down", he told the Mirror, and was surviving on "eating pineapple and sipping water" as he "couldn't keep anything down" while performing the next 10 shows.
But, the illness eventually took its toll and Former Celebrity Big Brother star collapsed outside his mum's house, where she called an ambulance and he was taken to Liverpool's Aintree University Hospital and treated by medical staff.
He told the Mirror: "I nearly died. They were going to remove my colon and put me on a colostomy bag.
The X Factor singer continued to perform but was incredibly ill (PA)"I honestly nearly died, my organs were shutting down."
Christopher spent two weeks in intensive care and another two weeks undergoing tests, which revealed he had developed a lifelong condition.
He explained: "It's that bad that a parasite embedded itself into my large intestine and it's given me colitis of the colon and colitis of the large intestine which means that it's never going to go away, it's a lifelong condition that needs to be monitored for the rest of my life."
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The condition has since changed his lifestyle.
He was forced to take a break from performing (Channel 5 / Jonathan Ford)
He appeared on CBB in 2016 (PA)"It's a lifelong condition, it's never going to go away, and it's going to take about 12 months for me to feel like I'm back to normal," he said.
Christopher has now told the Echo he was hoping 2020 would be his comeback year, but then the pandemic hit.
But, now Christopher has said he was relieved he was able to take some time out and properly recover.
He told Liverpool Echo: "I had to take time out as I've been absolutely shattered."
Christopher is planning a comeback as he is set to perform at Stourbridge Town Hall before he joins the adaptation of Beauty and the Beast as the Prince in April 2023 at the Bindley Theatre in Runcorn.
He gushed: "I'm now back to what I love...performing. I've missed it so much."