It underpins one's faith and one's feelings about being here for a reason. At the end of the show, he received a standing ovation. In Andrews's suite at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, there is champagne lolling in a bucket and bottles of Lucozade Sport with added minerals in the fridge, but no bottled water in sight. Until this episode, Andrews had led what seemed to be a charmed life - successful career, ageing well, lovely heiress wife, three fine children, house in the country, horses in the paddock - and Higgins in the bag, a role he'd always coveted. And even in the middle of the crisis, his luck held. “In my naivety, I’d never have thought in a million years that I was running the risk of killing myself with water,” he says. I've finally stopped hiding behind the desktop. The sodium concentration in his body was so low it was almost unregisterable. Actor Anthony Andrews is recovering after becoming ill by drinking too much water. Be Green Bay! I thought I was the healthiest person in the world.”. As temperatures soared during the midsummer run of My Fair Lady, Andrews's three-litres-a-day habit increased to five or six litres as he struggled to refresh his vocal cords. Peter rang the car, only to find Andrews, by now, unconscious. "Thirst is not a good indicator of how dehydrated you are. An­drews was born in Lon­don, the son of Geral­dine Agnes (née Cooper), a dancer, and Stan­ley Thomas An­drews, an arranger and con­duc­tor for the BBC. Several months on, he is still so emotional about the part that you wonder how he ever coped with the fame of being Sebastian Flyte all those years ago in the television series Brideshead Revisited. Are you drinking enough? By the time Barry screeched into a hospital near Gatwick, his patient was incoherent and having fits. ", For a few more days, his present magic is Drury Lane. In fact, he was building up a condition known as hyponatraemia, which is usually associated with ecstasy-takers and marathon runners and often mistaken for heat exhaustion. The condition, known as hyponatraemia, is caused by the dilution of sodium in the body. But then neither was Rex Harrison, for whom the part of Professor Higgins was written by Lerner and Lowe from Shaw's play, Pygmalion. My Battle with the Bottle. One of the symptoms is inappropriate behaviour: I was fighting everybody". After a se­ries of short term "fill-in" jobs that in­cluded cater­ing, farm­ing and jour­nal­ism, he se­cured a po­si­tion at the Chich­ester The­atre where he worked as a… "In my naivety, I'd never have thought in a million years that I was running the risk of killing myself with water," he says. "I feel like the luckiest man alive. . On days when there was a matinee as well as an evening performance, he probably got through eight litres of water - all the while assuming he was doing himself good. "The only thing I remember of the performance in which I was taken ill is that my head ached violently. In his famously sexy rumble, Harrison spoke to the music half the time, and Andrews follows the pattern. "Apparently, it was very difficult to get me out of the car. But the curious case of Anthony Andrews, whose addiction to water almost killed him, must rank… I thought: Oh damn, Higgins has gone for 20 years.". Andrews' agent, Penny Wesson, said: "It does affect you if you drink too much and Not exactly what the doctor ordered, but he says he was desperate to return. "People who work out a lot grab a bottle between pieces of machinery in the gym. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. He still drinks water between numbers to help his voice, but never more than three litres a day. Parched, he would rush back to his dressing room between songs and glug another half-litre. The Brideshead Revisited star needed hospital treatment after drinking several litres - leading to a salt imbalance. Nimco Ali to help create new strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, Biting Talk with Sarah Jane Evans MW: 'The French plant vines here because they know it's the place to be', whose addiction to water almost killed him, My Fair Lady finishes its London run at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on August 30. On top of everything else, he’d developed an allergy…. So, what's changed? Andrews was born in London, the son of Geraldine Agnes (née Cooper), a dancer, and Stanley Thomas Andrews, an arranger and conductor for the BBC. Georgina, the wife, rang Peter, the doctor, saying Andrews was making no sense on the car phone on his way home. "It seems to have been a combination of the spell of hot weather, the fact he US Public Health Service Drinking Water Standards. And if you're lucky enough to get a standing ovation, then "you know you are one of the luckiest guys that ever walked. next few days.". For bookings, tel: 08708 901 109 or see. The Telegraph article. "When you are out there, you feel you are riding this extraordinary tornado," he says. Not for Andrews the predictability of a few weeks in rehab with anything as common as alcohol abuse. ", 'The luckiest man alive': Andrews would sometimes drink eight litres of water a day, Duke and Duchess of Sussex win apology for She added: They think it adds up to magic. Lyn, the dresser, told Barry, the driver, that she was worried about Andrews's confused state that night, especially his excessive water-drinking. At the age of eight he un­der­took danc­ing lessons, mak­ing his stage debut as the White Rab­bit in a stage adap­ta­tion of Lewis Car­roll's Alice in Won­der­land. Andrews, who lives in west London, is best known for his role as Sebastian Flyte in the ITV adaptation of Brideshead Revisited. The role of Professor Henry Higgins is a demanding one, and we can all think of actors who've lubricated their performances on stronger cordials than rose hip syrup. “Actors must expect their excessive drinking habits to be breakfast table gossip, especially if they become too intoxicated to perform. wouldn't be true to the novel," he says. "It carries you. In a way, it would have been more understandable if Andrews had knocked himself out of the cast of My Fair Lady on vodka. I knew that having come through this, I was destined to be around for a bit. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. Always counting his blessings. performances a week. Anthony Andrews made his West End theater debut at the Apollo Theatre as one of twenty young schoolboys in Alan Bennett's "Forty Years On" with John Gielgud. "I felt I was letting everyone down. When I heard the National was doing My Fair Lady with Jonathan [Pryce], I wasn't a happy bunny. It's exactly what I was doing, only my workout was on a stage.". They told him their patients rarely walked out, let alone on to a stage. The Brideshead Revisited star needed hospital treatment after drinking several litres - leading to a salt imbalance. His mail bag has been predictably heavy with "stick to the whisky" type jokes. He is convinced he owes his life to the alertness of his dresser, his driver, his wife and his doctor, in that order. On this date, August 21st in 2003, acclaimed British actor Anthony Andrews almost perished as the result of a rare malady—water intoxication. “Actors must expect their excessive drinking habits to be breakfast table gossip, especially if they become too intoxicated to perform. 17,029 pages were read in the last minute. "The trouble with the acting profession is that there are always people telling you how you can do better. He has to think pretty hard. August 21, 2003: Actor Anthony Andrews almost dies of water intoxication. The role of Professor Henry Higgins is a demanding one, and we can all think of actors who’ve lubricated their performances on stronger cordials than rose hip syrup. Andrews has to rely on other people for the full account of his recent near-death experience. Over the weeks, the salt in his body had been so diluted that by the end of the performance on June 28, he was rapidly moving through a list of symptoms that are usually fatal - headaches, weakness, nausea, confusion, unsteadiness, agitation, delerium, unconsciousness. Tony thought his tumbler of water before each number was rehydrating and helpful to his singing.". was drinking so much water and perspiring as well as performing so often.". I would hide behind the desktop. Michael J. McGuire A lot of people were coming up to me, asking if I was OK. Andrew Davies, the screenwriter, plans a new version - darker, less religious - but Andrews is unimpressed. Actors must expect their excessive drinking habits to be breakfast table gossip, especially if they become too intoxicated to perform. I'd take the view: if they don't want me, they don't want me. He began his career at the Chichester Festival Theatre in the UK. When he came round, three days later, surrounded by his loved ones, the muscles of his face and neck were locked and he was dimly aware that no one could quite make sense of what he was saying. drone pictures of Archie. "He's out of the clinic now and we expect him to be back in the show in the Is he living life differently, post-Higgins, post-hyponatraemia? He has missed the production at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane while being treated at a private clinic following the incident on Saturday. "But I'd never quite had the nerve to throw my hat into the ring. perspire without replacing the salt in your system. "Remakes are often an excuse to associate young movie stars with a good title. It is an extraordinary feeling to have got so close to death and to have come back. "We all live with a bottle of mineral water on the table. Terribly grateful.