Entertainer Ted Robbins has been given urgent medical treatment after his home was ravaged by fire from a tumble dryer that wasn't even switched on.
The Phoenix Nights star - and uncle of actress Emily Atack - was treated for smoke inhalation after flames spread throughout his house in Rossendale, Lancashire, within a matter of minutes today.
The actor described how he noticed an "acrid smell" at about 2pm before realising that his utility room was engulfed.
"It happened so quickly. It was billowing out. Within three minutes the place was full of smoke," Ted, 63, told the BBC .
Describing how he "couldn't breathe," he realised the fire was coming from his tumble dryer - despite the fact it wasn't even switched on.
I'm A Celebrity's Emily Atack aided famous uncle's recovery after horror heart attack
Thinking on his feet, he covered the appliance with a wet towel before firefighters arrived and administered oxygen to the star, who previously had to be resuscitated after collapsing on stage during a 2015 performance at Manchester Arena.
Thankfully both he and his wife Judith managed to escape without serious injury, but he said his utility room and bathroom have been "completely gutted" by the fire.
"She hasn't got any knickers. It burnt the lot," he joked.
"We're hugely lucky to get out and stay out. I covered the tumble dryer with a wet towel. It was the last thing I expected because it was plugged in but it wasn't on," he continued.
"I'm so glad no-one was hurt and it wasn't at night."
It comes four years after his shocking stage collapse during a performance of Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights Live.
The star - who played villain Den Perry in the show - suffered a cardiac arrest within minutes of walking on stage.
For 15 minutes he lay on stage clinically dead, and was only saved when a paramedic who happened to be watching the show pounded on his chest and broke 12 ribs in his battle to revive him.
“I was clinically dead. The paramedic said the chances of making a recovery like mine were just 8%. He told me: ‘Ted, you are walking rocking horse s***!’” he previously told The Mirror.
