Martin Roberts, 59, took to Instagram last week to speak out on the “terrible health scare” he suffered back in April 2022 in view of his 21,500 followers. The Homes Under the Hammer star was overcome with emotion as he filmed himself thanking fans for their continued support during his battle with pericardial effusion and the ensuing mental health struggles.
“The first property I filmed after my health scare went out on the show yesterday and if you remember, the shirt was the nearest thing I had to a bunch of flowers to wear to say, ‘Thank you’ for all your kind words and support during that time. It meant the world,” he captioned the clip.
In the self-recorded video, which was uploaded on Thursday, Martin continued: “As a special message for you if you were with me through that whole period in April last year when I had my terrible health scare.
“Just to let you know, I think it was yesterday’s programme I filmed after I went back to work, where I wore a very bright shirt as a way of saying thank you for all your support.
“It was the closest thing I had to a bunch of flowers. But you remember the Twitter post I did at that time where I said ‘thank you’.
“Well the show went out yesterday, so you can actually see what I was doing on that day.
“It just reminded me how much your help got me through that terrible time,” he said while holding back tears.
Unable to contain his emotion, Martin went on: “Which I’m still… yeah… Physically I’m fine…
“Unless you’ve been through something like that you don’t realise how the mental health thing goes on for a bit.
“You’re a lovely human being that has all of those properties.”
Fibernought simply penned: “Stay strong fella and look after yourself.”
Martin was hospitalised last year with chest pains that he mistook for long Covid, but learned he was suffering from pericardial effusion, which is a build-up of fluid in the structure around the heart.
Speaking on This Morning last year, Martin admitted that the dramatic health scare has pushed him to “re-adjust” his busy work schedule.
Detailing his health woes, Martin told Phillip Schofield and Rochelle Humes he had suffered from chest pains for several weeks, but simply assumed it was long Covid.
He said: “I’d been feeling a bit poorly, under the weather for a couple of weeks.
“I’ve had a few chest infections over the last few years and I’ve had asthma since childhood, so I’m used to quite a tight chest.
“As it approached the Easter bank holiday weekend, it was starting to get really bad where I could hardly walk without struggling for breath.”