...and she plays a paramedic on Casualty

A comedian who once played a paramedic in Casualty has saved a woman’s life with the Heimlich manoeuvre.

Cerys Nelmes swung into action when she noticed a fellow diner choking in a restaurant last night, as she was getting a bite to eat in Leighton Buzzard,  Bedfordshire, before her gig.

Writing on Facebook, the comic said: ‘As I was walking to the till a woman started coughing. Her friend got up and started tapping her on the back but then it escalated and she started choking.

‘I put my bag down and went over and started pounding her on the back to no avail. 

‘The ambulance was called and all the staff and customers were gathering around! I then started the Heimlich manoeuvre quite vigorously and then gave her some more massive slaps on the back and eventually dislodged the prawn she was choking on. 

‘I got her to calm down and take deep breaths. She was crying, her friend was in shock, all the staff were shook up. 

‘I made sure she was OK and left for the gig leaving my number just in case the paramedics needed to speak to me’

‘As I was leaving I went over to introduce myself, her name was Roz.’

Nelmes  – who played a paramedic as an extra in Casualty – added that she got her meal in the Cod & Waffle restaurant for free because of her lifesaving actions.

She then went to compere a gig in Dunstable, and told Gavin Webster on his Comedy Results phone-in internet show that she thought to herself: ‘I’ve got to go a gig now and make people laugh, this is going to be a weird one.’

‘I’m a background extra as a paramedic on Casualty – maybe all my pretend training came into action.’

Published: 28 Apr 2019