Chris Tarrant suffers stroke: ‘This is a nasty wake-up call,’ says manager

The Who Wants To Be A Millionaire presenter, 67, was returning to London from Burma a week last Saturday, when he fell ill on the plane

Chris Tarrant suffered what medical staff are describing as a “mini-stroke” after an 11-hour flight.

The presenter, 67, was returning to London from filming a fishing show in Burma a week last Saturday, when he fell ill on the plane.

He was rushed from Heathrow Airport to Charing Cross Hospital in West London, where doctors initially suspected he was suffering from a bad asthma attack.

After further investigation, they discovered a blood clot in his leg, and performed emergency surgery to destroy it before it dislodged and caused a full-scale stroke.

"The doctor describes it as a mini stroke, probably brought on by the asthma and bronchitis on the plane," The Sun quotes Tarrant’s manager, Paul Vaughan, as saying.

"They found a clot which they managed to break up.

"It was a clot in the leg and that can immediately go to the brain or lungs."

According to the report, Tarrant is currently under the care of the same consultant who looked after Andrew Marr when he suffered a major stroke in January 2013.

Vaugn said that Tarrant had started making trips back to his London flat, but returns to the hospital at night.

"He is determined to leave hospital. But he’s not going back to work," he added. "This is a nasty wake-up call."

Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, the game show Tarrant famously hosted, came to the end of its UK run in February.

Since its first broadcast in 1999, the show has spawned 83 foreign language versions, an Oscar-winning film and countless board games.

Yet despite its expansion, only five contestants have ever won the million pound prize.