Entertainment
Felicity Kendal reveals partner was hospitalised for coronavirus: ‘It was just such a scary time’
Felicity Kendal has revealed her partner Michael Rudman was hospitalised for coronavirus, describing it as a ‘scary time’.
Director Michael, 82, has recovered after testing positive for the virus, with actress Felicity, 74, recalling the terrifying experience.
‘I think I can speak for a lot of people about the fear being huge, and the frustration being a real hardship,’ she said.
‘That feeling that you don’t know what state your loved one is in, and knowing you still can’t go and see them – it’s not like anything you’ve experienced before. It was just such a scary time. Michael is in his eighties.’
The Good Life actress said she could tell the hospital staff ‘were at their wits’ end’.
‘I thought of their distress at having to be mother, father, grandfather – and look after people who are seriously ill,’ she added to the Camden New Journal. ‘And they are in some ways as isolated as the patients.’
She went on to say that the part she finds hardest is the isolation, as families can usually ‘bind together’ through hardship.
Felicity and Michael were married for seven years until their divorce in 1990. They reunited as a couple eight years later, and have one son together.
The director’s daughter, Amanda, also suffered from coronavirus and is still suffering from some ‘long Covid’ symptoms after battling the virus.
She has set up a charity called Feed The Frontline, which provides meals for the staff at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, where her father was treated.
Felicity is best known for her role in The Good Life, but has also appeared in the likes of Doctor Who and Inside No. 9.
Michael has directed theatre productions including Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, and Death of a Salesman.
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