Tomlinson to have open heart surgery

English comic actor Ricky Tomlinson has been told he must have open heart surgery.

Tomlinson, 67, famous for his role as couch potato Jim Royle in award-winning TV series 'The Royle Family' , underwent a routine angioplasty on Friday to unblock his arteries.

But the procedure, at Liverpool's Cardiothoracic Centre, was halted after further blockages were found and he has been told he must now have a quadruple bypass.

He had been pre-warned that bypass surgery might be the outcome of Friday's procedure.

He said: "I thought they had carried out the procedure because I was in the operating theatre for quite some time, about an hour.

"But apparently they came across a problem in my main artery so I didn't have the complete operation.

"They said they had come across a difficulty and it would be in my interests to have open heart surgery."

Tomlinson is at home awaiting an appointment with a specialist to discuss when the surgery can take place. He says he is in good spirits, even joking: "It is frustrating, but I think it is more frustrating for my wife, Rita.

"I was told this operation would make me a new man and Rita says she could do with a new man."

Before Friday's surgery the actor, who also starred in 'Brookside', 'Cracker' and the movie 'Mike Bassett - England Manager', launched an awareness campaign to encourage one million men to check their heart health and help avoid the need for surgery.