‘IT WAS A BIG WAKE-UP CALL – I'M LUCKY TO BE HERE!'

NEIL ‘RAZOR’ RUDDOCK AND HIS WIFE LEAH INVITE OK! INTO THEIR HOME AND REVEAL HOW RAZOR HAS CHANGED HIS LIFESTYLE SINCE HIS EMERGENCY HEART SURGERY AT HOME WITH THE RUDDOCKS

- KIRSTY HATCHER

When Neil “Razor” Ruddock signed up to the second series of Harry’s Heroes, he was expecting more laughs and chaos with his former England teammates. But what the former footballer didn’t expect was for the show to save his life.

While undergoing a health check for the ITV series, a doctor discovered that Razor’s resting heart rate was a dangerous 130bpm, which in turn led to an emergency heart surgery to regulate his heart rate and fit a pacemaker.

As he and his wife Leah exclusively open the doors to their colourful four-bedroom, threestorey home in Kent, Razor tells OK!, “It was a big wake-up call. I’m lucky to be here.”

The 52-year-old – who has admitted he used to, “Drink three or four bottles of wine a day, easy-peasy, plus spirits, beers and cocktails,” – adds, “I’m on blood thinners and statins for the rest of my life.”

Both Razor and Leah feel grateful to be here, as the glamour model, 38, has also had her fair share of health complications after suffering from internal injuries and bleeding during the birth of their youngest daughter Kizzy, nine.

However, despite their hardships, the couple have never let it dull their spark. And while catching up with them, it soon becomes clear that they’re still very much in the honeymoon period as they spend the majority of our call teasing each other like teenagers. “We’re both a bit crazy,” laughs Leah, who also shares daughter Pebbles, 13, with Razor. “It’s why it works,” she adds.