Amanda Barrie says she is lucky to be alive after being electrocuted with 240 volts at her home.
The ex-Coronation Street star has told for the first time how she was paralysed by a surge from a fuse box.
Amanda, 83, said the force was so strong it pinned her against the wall.
“I thought my time had come,” said Amanda, who played Alma Sedgewick in the ITV soap.
“I could not break the circuit. It felt like two or three days but I suspect it was only six seconds.”
Amanda, who is starring in ITV’s Hard To Please OAPs, said: “I was in my flat in London and the electrics tripped. I went to put it on, I was touching a lamp behind it. I was pinned by both arms to the wall by the electricity going through me.
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“I could not extract my hands from the fuse box or the lamp. I was terrified. I just yelled for my neighbour and they came in.
“I got incredibly good-looking paramedics. They took me to hospital. Thank God we’ve got the NHS. My hair stood slightly on end. I lit up the West End.
“I was lucky. My arms were above my heart where the current went through. If they were lower it could have really harmed me.
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“I thought what a stupid way to go, with fingers in sockets.”
Amanda was able to return to work a couple of days later and joked: “I read electrical treatment is really good for the brain. I’m hoping it might give me a facelift.”
In the aftermath of the accident, the soap star shared a picture on Twitter to thank the paramedics who attended to her.
On April 9, she wrote in a tweet shared with her 9,166 followers: "Thank you to my five heroes.
"So, last night I lit up the West End by electrocuting myself in my own flat. Eek! Magnificant #FirstResponders came to my rescue.
"Very scary but am still here, thanks also to @uclh God bless the @NHSuk."
