Jimmy Carr reveals he was ‘close to death’ with life-threatening infection

Jimmy Carr has recalled how he almost died after contracting meningitis as a child.

Speaking to Kathy Burke on her Where There's A Will, There's A Wake podcast, the 51-year-old comedian, 51, said he "nearly didn’t make it" when he was being treated in a hospital in Ireland at three years old.

Meningitis is an infection of the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord that can cause life-threatening sepsis and result in permanent damage to the brain or nerves.

"I kind of appreciated that thing of life, because I was always told, 'Oh, you nearly didn’t make it'," Carr said.