'A price to pay' for TV shows

Bob Mortimer has spoken of the rheumatoid arthritis that affects his life.

The 42-year-old comic takes drugs to combat the condition, and has to be careful with exercise, especially when playing with his sons Thomas, three, and Harry, five next month,

"I have to be careful because I have rheumatoid arthritis all over my body.

"Steroids keep it under control. It's treatable, but not curable and it flares up with a major attack every now and again.

"Doctors can only give you steroids and statistics, such as the one in ten chance you'll end up in a wheelchair.

"Whenever I do a show, there's a price to pay. I've recently started to suffer from iritis, which is when it attacks the iris. It was absolute agony but I'm not going to give into it."

Mortimer, who makes appearances for Arthritis Care, also revealed that his mother was crippled by the condition.

His comments came in an interview in this week's Radio Times to mark the return of Shooting Stars to BBC2 from Monday.

Published: 12 Feb 2002