Ronnie Corbett was battling with motor neurone disease in the months leading up to his death.
Ronnie Corbett
The comedian tragically passed away yesterday (31.03.16) at the age of 85 and his wife Anne Hart has spoken of her husband's secret struggle with the disease.
She said: "The doctor told us it was most likely to be amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known in the UK as motor neurone disease. As you can imagine, it just knocked us both back. We had not really heard of it. If it hadn't been for Stephen Hawking [who suffers from the disease] and the Eddie Redmayne film about him, 'The Theory Of Everything', we would not have heard of it at all.
"It became a 24-hour job with Ron getting gradually weaker. He was not in pain, and up to the last 48 hours, he was fully conscious and aware of everything. Some days all he managed was a few pieces of melon, a glass of champagne, and a Liquorice Allsort. His weight dropped drastically and he simply began to fade away.
"But I would like people to know about the machine that kept him alive. It is called ResMed, a ventilator which helps people to breathe. Without that we would have lost him much sooner."
However, despite the diagnosis, Ronnie kept smiling throughout.
She added to the Daily Mail newspaper: "Throughout his whole illness, he never once grumbled or complained. No one could have been more courageous."
The cause of Ronnie's death has yet to be announced.
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