Bill Bailey may be a funnyman on screen but in real life he has a serious health condition that could prove fatal.
"I had not brought the inhaler on stage with me because it is bulky and shows in your pocket but I was feeling stressed because I was preparing to embark on my first tour of large international arenas," the comedian told the Daily Mail. "I sometimes introduce spontaneous physicality into my routine and I found myself leaping about the stage and noticed I was starting to wheeze.
The incident in 2007 was transformative, with the comedian feeling much better on his new medication, with no wheezing or tightness across his chest. And the star, who recently hosted BBC Two's Bring The Drama reality show and is currently starring on Channel 4's Bill Bailey's Australian adventure, has good reason to be vigilant when comes to his asthma - when Bill was 16 he nearly drowned during an attack.
Since then, the condition had a negative impact on Bill's life until his medication switch-up. "I was getting very worried about having attacks and I always avoided unplanned physical activity just in case I finished up not being able to breathe properly," he said. "It felt like living with a constant threat."