Former Hollyoaks star Andy Newton Lee was put in a coma after collapsing behind the wheel of his car in Los Angeles.
The 38-year-old actor was found in his vehicle by a passerby on May 23 and admitted to hospital, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia.
He then woke up from the coma on May 29.
Newton Lee, who played Robbie Flynn on the Chester-based soap from 2003 to 2004, told Hull Live that he had a cough for six to eight weeks prior to his hospitalisation and said that he had been “burning the candle at both ends.”
He explained that he had been “sleeping next to the ocean in [his] car” and had been feeling “really run down and stressed for a bit with [his] business.”
“I’ve had a cold and the flu but I thought I was just run down,” he told the publication.
“I’ve done marathons, going to yoga and the gym, flying back to London every second week and burning the candle at both ends.”
The actor had been due to return to the UK to attend a friend’s funeral in his home city of Hull, but missed the event due to his stint in hospital.
Newton Lee said that he felt “very erratic” when he first woke up but is feeling “much better.”
“The care here has been amazing and I feel very lucky,” he said. “It’s definitely a wake up call to anyone who has respiratory problems.”
The soap star has also appeared in Coronation Street and Casualty.
He was diagnosed with stage three malignant melanoma in both legs in 2005 and subsequently became an ambassador for Cancer Research UK, completing 13 marathons for charity.
