EastEnders star James Bye’s toddler son Rufus was rushed to the hospital after he ate an “incredibly toxic” garden plant.
The actor, who played Martin Fowler in the BBC soap, shares Rufus, 2, and three other children with his wife Victoria - Edward, ten, Louis, eight, Hugo, five.
Victoria revealed Rufus’ tongue began to swell and he was left “screaming” in pain “minutes” after eating an Italian arum plant - which can cause skin irritations, arrhythmia, and internal bleeding.
She said “all hell let loose” and they ended up spending the night in A&E.
“So. More of a public service announcement than a post really but as we all know, life with kids is anything but predictable,” Victoria explained in a video on Instagram on Thursday:
“So, after spending the night in hospital (I swear they’ll start charging us rent soon) after Rufus decided to snack on a plant in the garden — one I didn’t even know was dangerous. All hell let loose.”
She went on: “Within minutes his tongue had started to swell, he was screaming & we had to call 999. (As always - NHS heroes, honestly.)
“Thankfully he’s absolutely fine now but it turned out the culprit was Italian Arum, a really common plant with bright orange berries that looks innocent but is seriously toxic if ingested.
“I mean, I had no idea. And once I started looking into it… turns out there are loads of plants like that quietly minding their own (deadly) business in UK gardens.”
The writer then shared a list of other common yet poisonous garden plants - including foxgloves, deadly nightshade, lily of the valley, rhubarb leaves, yew, daffodil bulbs, monkshood, hemlock, hydrangea, laburnum seeds, oleander, wisteria pods, bluebell and snowdrop bubs, ivy, autumn crocus, and buckthorn.
Victoria concluded: “So there you go… I debated whether I should post this serious mum fail…
“But if it could help anyone else avoid a night in A&E then feel free to share away with a friend who also has a little one with a fondness for putting everything in their mouths except actual food.”
James left EastEnders in February when his character Martin Fowler was killed off during the 40th anniversary live episode.
Martin was crushed by a steel beam while rescuing his longtime love Stacey Slater after an explosion at the Queen Vic pub.
