Still Game star 'stopped breathing' after choking on dinner on Hogmanay

Still Game star Gavin Mitchell has spoken about the moment he “collapsed and stopped breathing” after choking on his dinner on Hogmanay.

The 61-year-old actor and comedian, best known for portraying ‘Boaby the Barman’, said he took one bite of a chicken katsu curry before rushing to the bathroom as he started choking.

“I’d had a busy old December and was at home, sitting with my partner, chilling out”, he told STV Radio.

“We thought we’d sit down and choose something for the telly – Paddington 2, in case you’re interested. I love Hugh Grant in that film, he’s just tremendous.

“We sat down and she’d made one of my favourites – chicken katsu curry. I took one mouthful and I started to choke.

“I ran to the toilet. I was desperately trying to unblock it and the next thing I knew, I came to and I could see this big bit of wood and I thought, ‘what’s going on?’

Gavin said he regained consciousness to find his bathroom door smashed in and emergency services attending – after his partner, Lindsay, had to break the door off its hinges during the ordeal.

“I could hear her upset on two phones. I was thinking, ‘what?’ She’d smashed the door down off its hinges.

“I’d collapsed, stopped breathing and wasn’t responding. I know a lot of people were keeping their fingers crossed that I wouldn’t!”

Gavin, who has since recovered following the incident, also revealed that the paramedic who treated him was a Still Game fan.

He added: “Unbeknownst to me, the first words from the paramedic were [Boaby the Barman’s catchphrase] ‘aw, look who it isnae!’ Yeah, thanks guys, that really helped!”