Inside Bradley Walsh’s health battles from warning over silent killer to eye condition that impacts his job

‘I might have come out of hospital not being able to walk’

TV’s Bradley Walsh might look fit as a fiddle on The Chase, Beat the Chasers and Gladiators, but in reality it hasn’t been an easy few years for the star health wise.

Here’s all we know about his injuries and illnesses over the years

Bradley Walsh was hospitalised while filming Breaking Dad (Credit: BBC)

Broken back

Back in 2020, Bradley was victim to a nasty accident. This was while filming for his show Breaking Dad with son Barney.

While fulfilling a lifelong dream of taking part in an American rodeo, a bull bucked Bradley off, causing him to hit the floor “like a sack of potatoes” and break his back in three places.

However, as brutal as that sounds, thankfully the breaks were not too serious, with The Chase star subsequently commenting that he’d had a lucky escape.

 I might have come out of hospital not being able to walk.

“When you get to our age, all of a sudden the thoughts of your mortality really come home and I now realise that this time last year I might have come out of hospital not being able to walk,” he said.

Fears over ‘silent killer’

In recent years, Bradley has opened up about fears over a “silent killer” in his family. The 64-year-old TV presenter revealed that he was worried he would not make it past 60 after his dad died at 59 due to heart problems.

Following discussions with a heart specialist, he made lifestyle changes to hopefully boost his life expectancy.

“Once you know it’s hereditary, you start having regular tests. Of course, it’s a concern,” he explained, “I had it in the back of my mind that I just had to get past my dad’s age. So turning 60 was a bit of milestone. I was a time bomb. I produce too much cholesterol. It’s a silent killer. My heart guy said: ‘Look, Brad, you need to get fit.’”

As well as carefully watching his diet, Bradley has also said that he limits his alcohol intake for health reasons.

Bradley Walsh suffers from a health condition called blepharitis (Credit: ITV)

Bradley Walsh reveals eye condition

In 2022, Bradley revealed that he suffers with an eye condition called blepharitis.

Blepharitis causes itchy, swollen eyelids and while not usually too serious, can sometimes lead to dry eyes, cysts and conjunctivitis.

In some of the worst cases, sufferers can wake up with their eyelids stuck together.

Bradley addressed the condition on This Morning, explaining how it impacts his job, saying: “People don’t realise I have seriously bad blepharitis.”

He said that he manages the symptoms with medication and hopes to eventually have surgery: “I have to take a pill a day for it or I really struggle. I am going to need my eyes operated on at some point to sort it out. So many times, people have commented on it. But they don’t realise. If I take the medication though, I’m fine.”