Larry Lamb, 78, best known for his role in Gavin and Stacey, has always been renowned for "never being ill". However, he recently shared a harrowing experience of falling seriously unwell.

The TV legend will return to our screens tomorrow, Wednesday, as the Gavin and Stacey finale airs again on the Beeb. The actor, who also starred in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here, travelled to Senegal to raise awareness about the struggles faced by some of the world's poorest children. Shortly after returning home, he was struck down with a severe fever - and this debilitating illness lasted for months and eventually spread to his ears, causing total deafness in one of them.

Reflecting on the ordeal, Larry said: "It's been catastrophic. I'm famous for never being ill. But I went into complete physical meltdown. At one point I felt like I was dying. But the real shock was when I realised I couldn't hear properly."

• 'Policeman broke the news of my son’s death - then 20 years later saved my life'


• Joanna Lumley admits extreme threat to get Jennifer Saunders on Amandaland Christmas special

The infection and subsequent hearing loss may have been due to malaria - a mosquito-borne disease that triggers fever, fatigue, and headaches. Larry added: "We were in and out within a week. Back home in north London I felt fine, so stopped taking the Malarone pills.

"I'd been told I should take them for eight days after leaving Senegal, but didn't understand why as I was completely well. But about three days later I began to feel ill. It was like the worst hangover I'd ever had."

"For a few days I had a fever which caused me to sweat and then cool again. I couldn't sleep - I didn't have the strength to do anything."

Following a gruelling stint in hospital, during which Larry felt he was on death's door, he began noticing peculiar sounds in his right ear "I'd never had any hearing problems and suddenly had really bad tinnitus, as if someone had hit me on the head," he shared.

Despite undergoing treatment that failed to restore his hearing, Larry was advised by medics to simply "deal" with the condition. However, this proved easier said than done, as it began to take a toll on his professional life.

He said: "It was hellish. If I was sitting with two or three friends, it was impossible to follow the conversation. I suddenly understood why people with hearing loss can become isolated. It was such a strain that I couldn't always be bothered to keep asking people to repeat themselves. It's easier to tune out, so that's what you do."

After additional examinations, Larry was diagnosed with hearing loss in his right ear and mild loss in his left. Doctors clarified that the star had experienced the same type of hearing damage typically associated with ageing, but in his case, it happened "more suddenly and profoundly," leaving him reliant on a hearing aid.

Audiologist Colin Campbell, who attended to Lamb at a nearby Specsavers, clarified that malarial infection can wreak havoc on the hair cells within the inner ear - these are responsible for transmitting electrical signals to the cochlear nerve. The extent of hearing loss is directly proportional to the number of hair cells affected.