Rick Stein grimly predicts he has got ‘much longer’ left to live
Rick Stein fears he isn’t going to “last that much longer” after his open heart surgery.
The TV chef, 77, had the operation at the Royal Brompton Hospital, London, in 2023 after he started to become breathless and he has now said his mortality is on his mind – but insisted he feels “optimistic” about whatever is left of his life.
He told The Times: “Having had the operation and recovered, the improvement in my health has left me tremendously optimistic.
“Even though at my age and with the normal realities of life I'm not going to last that much longer.
“I think as long as you’ve got your health and you’re optimistic generally and enjoying your life, you don’t tend to ponder too much about how little life you’ve got left.”
Rick – who is married to wife Sarah and has three sons with first wife Jill Newstead – was told to get his heart operation by doctor after it was found his aorta wasn’t working properly.
He previously told the Daily Mail about going under the knife: “It was scary before I went into the operation.
“Afterwards you realise if you had died you wouldn’t have noticed, because you were under the anaesthetic.
“An operation like that stops you in your tracks and makes you think about who you are.
“It’s time to review your life. You’ve been through a very life-threatening experience.
“The surgeon says it’s no more dangerous than the appendix these days, but to have your heart taken out, repaired and put back in, personally I’d say that’s big!”
