julian_craster

Michael Winner is taken ill in Barbados
BBC News:
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Sick Winner treated in hospital

Veteran film director and food critic Michael Winner is being treated in hospital after falling ill while on holiday in Barbados.

Winner, 71, is being treated at The London Clinic, a private hospital in Harley Street.
A spokesman for the director, famous for his Death Wish trilogy, confirmed he was ill and receiving treatment.
But he refused to comment on newspaper claims that Winner may have to have a leg amputated.
The Daily Mirror reported that doctors told Winner he would have to have the limb cut off in a bid to save his life.
Winner was taken to the Bayview Hospital in Barbados by ambulance on 3 January, after suffering an apparent allergic reaction to medication prescribed a few days earlier for a fever.
At the time he told the Daily Mail: "Unfortunately, I had an absolutely dreadful reaction to the antibiotic and I came out in enormous blood blisters on my left leg.
"They covered the entire inside of my leg and each one was five inches long.
"Then they all burst and I was rushed to hospital with the sirens blaring."
In a statement, The London Clinic said: "Mr Winner remains an in-patient at The London Clinic, receiving expert medical and nursing care.
"His condition is under constant review and he is making good progress."

Winner has been seen on television recently in a new series of adverts for the insurance company Esure, which gave rise to his "calm down dear" catchphrase.

Last year Winner turned down an OBE in the Queen's 80th birthday honours' list because he felt it is "what you get if you clean the toilets well at King's Cross station".

Freddy

Let's hope for a speedy recovery.

Freddy

JamesM

I didn't think he looked that well in his latest esure commercial.

Lord Brett

As they say in the trade, he couldn't direct p*** into a pot, but I hope he's soon on the mend.

bitterblue

He looked awful in the esure ad - as if he was held together by make up alone!

julian_craster

More details from today's Independent.....

Get well soon, Michael !


Winner may lose leg after falling ill in the Caribbean
By Cahal Milmo

The Independent
Published: 18 January 2007

The film director Michael Winner was seriously ill in hospital yesterday with a mysterious complaint that may require his infected left leg to be amputated.
Doctors said Winner, 71, who fell ill while on holiday in Barbados, was making "good progress" after he was admitted to intensive care in the private London Clinic on Harley Street.

But an aide to the veteran director, who has become better known as a food critic in recent years, said it was still unclear whether his leg would be amputated.
Winner had initially told his friends that a reaction to drugs given to him for a fever while staying at an exclusive resort in the Caribbean island had caused large blood blisters to form on his leg.
Speaking before his condition worsened, he said: "Unfortunately, I had an absolutely dreadful reaction to the antibiotics and I came out in enormous blood blisters on my left leg.
"They covered the entire inside of it and each was five inches long. Then they all burst and I was rushed to hospital, sirens blaring."

Winner returned to London this week on a commercial flight after his condition improved sufficiently to avoid the need for an air ambulance.
However, he became seriously ill on his return to Britain and was soon admitted to the £1,000-a-day London Clinic.

In a statement, the hospital said: "Mr Winner remains an in-patient. His condition is under constant review and he is making good progress."

Winner, who was educated at Cambridge, is understood to have taken badly to the suggestion that his leg may have to be amputated to save his life, telling doctors that he would rather die than lose the limb. An aide said last night: "He is making progress but we still don't know what will happen with regard to the leg."
Winner, who is best known for the Death Wish series of films which starred Charles Bronson as a vigilante, had been on a Caribbean holiday costing a reputed £85,000 with his girlfriend, Geraldine Lynton-Edwards, a former actor and dancer.


The movie mogul and critic, who owns a mansion in Holland Park, west London, is a frequent visitor to the winter celebrity haven of Barbados, mixing with other regulars such as the Pop Idol millionaire Simon Cowell and the billionaire entrepreneur Sir Philip Green.

Before his condition deteriorated, Winner had shown his famously low tolerance for food that he considers unworthy. While in the Bayview hospital in Barbados he arranged for the kitchen at the hotel where he was staying to send his meals to him by taxi.
He said: "It's horrible here. They're doing their best, but the food is disgusting."
Winner, who describes his favourite dish as scrambled eggs with Beluga caviar, is said to be suffering from a long-term condition which may be contributing to his illness.

He has fallen seriously ill twice before. He had a triple heart bypass in 1993 and suffered a haemorrhage four years ago caused by blood-thinning drugs.

Writing shortly after his 2003 illness, he said: "Tragedy nearly engulfed me this week. But I was saved to carry on and share my life with you."

julian_craster

Good to see Michael back on his old form again.....


Winner denies amputation reports
BBC News:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6276231.stm

Winner reportedly reacted to medication taken to control a fever.
Veteran film director and columnist Michael Winner has denied he may be
forced to have a limb amputated.
Winner, 71, is being treated at a private Harley Street hospital after what
is thought to have been a reaction to medication taken while on holiday.

Some newspaper reports had claimed he had been given the choice of losing a
leg, or dying.

But in a statement he said his limbs were "solidly where they have been for
many years".

Winner was taken to the Bayview Hospital in Barbados by ambulance on 3
January.

The statement read: "I have been interested in recent newspaper reports
suggesting I had lost, or was about to lose, one leg, two legs, an arm, a
head - some people suggesting this went some time ago! - or even a
fingernail.

"I am happy to tell you that, when I last looked, all of these items
appeared solidly where they have been for many years.

"I am further advised that the chance of any of them leaving my persona are
non-existent. So if you see a leg lying around, it is not mine, unless, of
course, it is firmly attached to my body."

Winner underwent a heart bypass operation in 1993. The film director, best
known for cult movie Death Wish, remains in hospital but is making good
progress, the clinic said.

julian_craster

Michael Winner talks about his recent serious illness in THE INDEPENDENT, at:

How Michael Winner cheated death - Independent Online Edition > Health Medical

Lord Brett

Yes, I read that artricle. It turns out that he looked so shocking on the e-sure advert due a recent diet, and his illness was a very sudden occurence due to eating raw seafood (yuck!).

Moor Larkin

One minute he's too fat..... then he's too thin......

When I saw his adverts being broadcast again, at least I knew he must be okay.....

The British attitude to Mr. Winner recently seems curious. For a long time he was just that old fat bloke who used to make really crappy B-movies. Then he showed that he had a sense of humour by doing those adverts and suddenly he's a bonzer dude!! The power of Advertising.

I notice David Gest is trying to replicate this feat in Britain. I wonder if he'll succeed.

[code]http://www.flickr.com/photos/29487363@N02/sets/72157606700675506/code]

Lord Brett

Not with me, he won't. I'm still not keen on Mr Winner, either. All that happened is that he went from being a film director loathed by film lovers to being a food critic loathed by the restaurant trade.

Didn't David Gest used to be white when he was married to Liza Minnelli!

Jim

Who is this gargoyle David Guest, is he any relation to Alan Sugar?

Good morning boys.

christoph404

I think Winner made a few duds but was not totally lacking in talent, some of his films with Charles Bronson were hugely succesfull, though Im not a huge fan of the original Death Wish film it was very much of its time and left an indelible impression. Chatos Land wasn't too bad and I quite like Scorpio with Schofield, Lancaster, and Delon, and what about the Wicked Lady with Faye Dunnaway and Alan Bates? that was quite entertaining and provoked a public argument between Winner and the British film censor over a scene in the film which showed a glimpse of bear breast during a brawl in the mud. I think the fact that Winner often comes across as being pompous ,arrogant and opinionated does not help his film making reputation, I think he works on this personna to delberately annoy certain people, but if you separate what you think about the public personna of the man himself and consider his films in their own right then sureley he deserves some credit for his past achievements, and yes it is difficult to take him seriously at all after watching those awfull insurance ads, but the truth is that he was a very bankable and succesful director, perhaps not the most subtle or artistic but he had his moments and made an impression!