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A cherished member of the Gogglebox Malone clan was previously left fighting for life in a coma after being struck down by a devastating brain condition more than a decade ago. The household joined the hit Channel 4 programme in 2014, featuring father Tom, mother Julie, and their lads Shaun and Tom Jr. Their daughter Vanessa has also popped up on screen numerous times throughout the years. Since their debut, the clan , alongside their pack of Rottweiler pooches, have won over audiences with their side-splitting commentary, consistently delivering laughs to those watching at home. Despite Tom Jnr departing in 2021 , the remaining relatives have stayed put on their famous settee, returning for the show's 26th run which kicked off last month. Yet during Shaun's teenage years, the household faced devastating turmoil when he became critically unwell and required seven operations. Speaking previously about the ordeal, Julie revealed to the Mirror : "We were absolutely frantic.", reports the Manchester Evening News . "The doctor said Shaun only had a slim chance of surviving surgery, that there were no beds available. Tom said I just went doolally saying, 'He's going to be fine, he's going to be fine'. Thankfully Tom was level-headed and really pushed them." She added: "When a bed was finally found Shaun spent six hours in surgery to remove a piece of bone from his skull because of the swelling. He was in a coma for two weeks and when he came around had to learn to walk all over again." Fortunately, Shaun managed to make a complete recovery. In 2020, Shaun looked back on the terrifying experience during an appearance on the Coaching From The Sofa podcast. He explained: "In 2010 I got sinusitis and in some way, the infection found its way back to my brain. My brain started swelling and my skull started crushing it so my mum took me to A&E saying, 'Look he's poorly!' and they said it was sinusitis. "And then I collapsed one day at home and I ended up going into a coma and they said to my mum and dad that I had a less than 10 per cent chance of living." He continued: "I was in a coma for a few weeks – and they said to my mum and dad, 'Shaun's got brain damage, we don't know what the brain damage is or how it'll affect him or if it's going to be really bad.'". Shaun revealed: "And when I woke up my brain damage affected me in some ways, like my memory but mostly the way it affected me was with my left side. I essentially had a stroke, I couldn't move my left arm, my left leg, even the left side of my face." Gogglebox airs every Friday at 9pm on Channel 4.
