As Kent's health bosses continue to debate where to place three new hyper-acute stroke units, John Nurden took a trip to the theatre to learn from '80s comic Duncan Norvelle the devastating effects a stroke can have...

Six years ago, comedian Duncan Norvelle was preparing for summer season with Cannon and Ball when he suffered a major stroke.

He had gone to bed early the night before with what he thought was migraine but was woken by a phone call.

As he stumbled out of bed his legs folded and he collapsed on the floor.

Living alone, he dragged himself downstairs to the phone and called a cab to take him to hospital.

He said: "I knew I'd had a stroke because I'd seen the adverts on the telly and knew I had to get to hospital quickly. But it was a Friday night in Blackpool. I thought going by taxi would be quicker than waiting for an ambulance."

It was in hospital that he suffered a second more powerful stroke which shook his whole body into the air.

That stroke, caused by a blood clot in his brain, left him paralysed down his left side, unable to walk and, tragically for a man who makes his living telling stories, unable to talk.

On Saturday night the star of '80s TV turned up at the tiny Criterion Theatre in out-of-the-way Blue Town on the Isle of Sheppey to explain how he is learning to live life after a stroke and his battle to work again.

It was a revelation and a lesson in sheer determination that everyone should see and hear.

But first, there was the shock of seeing this once-bouncy entertainer slowly walk onto the stage using a glitter-covered cane.

Could this be the same blond-haired chap who pranced about in a pink Crimplene safari suit yelling his camp catchphrase "Chase me" to strangers?

It took a while to realise it was. His voice was a lot lower and his left arm hanged lifelessly by his side.

Clips on the big screen from his heydays on the Des O'Connor Show or appearing on the London Palladium only served to highlight the devastating effect a stroke can have.

But the twinkle in his eye soon returned as he recalled how his first taste of showbusiness was winning a £50 talent contest on Boscombe seafront near Bournemouth while on a lads' holiday. Not bad for a 17-year-old from Loughborough who was working in a men's outfitters.

And he couldn't conceal his delight remembering the horror on the faces of tough working men's clubs audiences in the north east as he honed his craft by skipping to the tune of Teddy Bears' Picnic.

One shocked club steward threatened the crowd: "If you don't give over, I'll bring the poof back."

Duncan was never gay. The three-times married father-of-three said: "I based my character on a cross between Michael Crawford's Frank Spencer and John Inman's Mr Humphries in Are You Being Served. I was camp but gentle."

For years, he had audiences in the palm of his hand with his impressions. His party-piece was 50 in five minutes ranging from Sylvester Stallone, John Wayne and Richard Burton to the cartoon Top Cat.

He repeated some of them at the Criterion but admitted: "When I had my stroke, I lost all my impressions. I had to spend hours watching old videos to learn how to do them again."

He also had a fine singing voice. Ironically, just before his stroke he recorded an album called Songs of My Life which is still on sale. It features the powerful ballad The Impossible Dream.

As it was played at the end of his two-hour interview with Dean Caston it was hard not to shed a tear for things which might have been.

But Duncan, 60, is made of tough stuff and is now back touring with his own two-hour stand-up show. He only used the comfy chair at the Criterion for the intimate one-to-one question-and-answer session.

He had been burning the candle at both ends for three weeks just before his stroke. He was going through a divorce and getting up at 5am every day to take his son Jack from Barnsley to Leicester and then back to Barnsley, a total 700-mile round trip, and then spending three hours a night rehearsing for the summer show.

Something had to give.

He admitted: "I was under a lot of stress at the time."

During the evening he touched on working with Shirley Bassey and Tommy Cooper, how he recorded the pilot for the TV show Blind Date and the day he dug up a bomb in his front garden. He also introduced the new love of his life, Lynn Trevallion. The pair now live in Essex.

He has three children: Sophie (with ex-wife Trudi Dean); Yasmin (with former girlfriend Tina Hall) and Jack (with ex-wife Jane Lindsay).

He said: "Stroke is a killer. I regard myself as one of the lucky ones. At least I survived. If that phone hadn't rung and woken me up, I might not have been here now."

He now tours Britain raising money and spreading the word on behalf for the Stroke Association. Members of the Swale Stroke Association were in the audience on Saturday and queued to chat to him afterwards.

At least life's never dull with Duncan.

What To Do

Stoke is Britain's fourth biggest killer. Last year almost 40,000 people in the UK died from stroke.

One in eight patients die within the first 30 days of having a stroke and around a third will experience a second stroke.

Of those who survive, one in three will be left with severe cognitive disabilities such as memory loss or language difficulties.

Remember to act FAST: Face Arms Speech Time (to call 999)

Duncan said: "Having a stroke is a huge shock to the system.

"I still can't tie my own shoelaces six years on. You can't do the things you used to do.

"But you must keep looking for the light at the end of the tunnel and try to keep your mind working with things to do."

He added: "You have to remember your partner will also suffer, too."

For information, visit stroke.org.uk

Stroke Jokes

Duncan said: "I have had to change my catchphrase from 'Chase Me' to 'Push Me'!"

"Laughter is the best form of medicine. Unless you are diabetic, then it's insulin."