Singer Cheryl Cole was given just 24 hours to live after falling ill with malaria in 2010.
The 30-year old, who recently rejoined the X Factor judging panel, has spoken out about the extent of her illness to promote Sport Relief, saying that the experience was the “scariest thing that you could ever imagine”. Cole contracted the disease while on safari in Tanzania with dancer Derek Hough and this week said she had gotten involved with the Sport Relief campaign as it was a cause that was “close to her heart”.
“It was the scariest thing you could ever imagine for me and for my friends and family. The pain I felt and went through, it’s what so many people go through, all because they don’t have a mosquito net which could save their life,” said the Girls Aloud star.
“I was lucky; I had the best care I could get. Some people are not so lucky. A £5 mosquito net could keep a child safe and really does help.”
Cole has recorded a video discussing her experience, which will be broadcast tonight, Friday 21 March, as part of the Sport Relief live show.
“When I climbed Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief five years ago, it was honestly one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. The motivation lay in knowing it could help in eradicating malaria and ultimately saving lives by providing mosquito nets. I didn’t for one minute think that only a year later I would get malaria myself and become so ill that at one point I was given 24 hours to live.”
