Gogglebox star opens up about living with brain damage after near-death experience
Shaun Malone was in a coma for weeks
Last updated 14th Sep 2020
Gogglebox star Shaun Malone has candidly spoken out about his experience of living with brain damage following a 'stroke' he suffered at the age of 15.
Detailing his near-death experience in the latest Coaching from the Sofa podcast, the 24-year-old cast member explained that his parents were told he had 'a less than 10 per cent chance of living' after swelling on the brain left him in a coma.
Shaun said, "In 2010 I got sinusitis and in some way, the infection found its way back to my brain.
"My brain started swelling and my skull started crushing it so my mum took me to A&E saying 'look, he’s poorly' and they said it was sinusitis."
He continued, "And then I collapsed one day at home and I ended up going into a coma and they said to my mum and dad that I had a less than 10 per cent chance of living."
Explaining how brain damage affected his life, Shaun said, "I was in a coma for a few weeks – and they said to my mum and dad 'Shaun’s got brain damage, we don’t know what the brain damage is or how it’ll affect him or if it’s going to be really bad.'
"And when I woke up my brain damage affected me in some ways, like my memory but mostly the way it affected me was with my left side.
"I essentially had a stroke, I couldn’t move my left arm, my left leg, even the left side of my face. My sister has got pictures of me trying to eat."
Speaking on how the trauma affected his mindset, football coach Shaun explained, "It had a huge impact on my mental health, I had gone from a very outgoing, young kid to then having all my independence taken away from me."
Check out all of the real jobs of our favourite Gogglebox stars:
Ellie and Izzi Warner
Sisters Ellie and Izzi Warner from Leeds first joined the show back in 2015.
Izzi welcomed her baby girl, Bessie Rose, in February 2020, and after making a living as a nail technician has now qualified to be a mortgage adviser.
Meanwhile, Izzi's sister Ellie is a hairdresser!
Pete and Sophie
Brother and sister duo Pete and Sophie Sandiford first joined the cast in 2017. Whilst Sophie dresses shop windows for a living, brother Pete works for an insurance company.
The Siddiqui family
The Siddiqui family, made up of Umar, Baasit and their dad Sid, have become Gogglebox legends since joining the show back in series 1.
Dad Sid is a retired engineer, he also worked for the NHS for 37 years. Baasit is an IT teacher in a secondary school whilst Umar has also works for the NHS, he has been a Biomedical Scientist in Microbiology at the Royal Derby Hospital for 17 years.
The Malone family
The Malone family, made up of Tom, Julie, Tom Jnr and Shaun, are one of the most popular families with fans. They first joined the cast in 2014.
As often documented on the show, Tom Jr is a professional dancer, but he also works as a freelance model! In March 2021, he announced he would be a chair-tester for an office supplies company, before quitting Gogglebox to pursue other career options.
His brother Shaun is a football coach, whilst dad Tom is a lorry driver and mum Julie is a receptionist.
Stephen Webb and Daniel Lustig
Stephen Webb has appeared on every single series of Gogglebox, and in 2019 his husband Daniel Lustig joined him! The pair chose to leave in 2023, with Stephen announcing he was set to appear on the 2024 series of Dancing On Ice. Unfortunately for Stephen, he was forced to withdraw from the show after breaking his ankle.
The pair both work as hairdressers.
Dave and Shirley
Welsh couple Dave and Shirley, who have been married for over 40 years, first joined the show back in 2015.
Shirley works in retail and Dave is a factory worker.
Tremaine, Twaine and Tristan
Tremaine, Twaine and Tristan, brothers from Bristol, joined back in 2016, but the trio didn't appear on series 15.
Whilst Tremaine is a chef, Twaine is a winger for Hereford FC and Tristan used to be a semi-professional footballer for Bristol FC but is now playing for Bitton AFC.
Giles and Mary
Gogglebox fans fell in love with Giles and his wife Mary when they joined the cast in 2015.
Although it's not known what he does for a living, in series 15, Giles revealed he actually retired at the age of 21. Meanwhile, it's understood Mary writes as an 'agony aunt' for an online magazine.
The married couple are also reportedly good friends with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Jenny and Lee
Best friends Jenny and Lee first joined the show on series 4 back in 2014.
Although it's not known what the pair do for a living now, they first became friends when Jenny was a land lady at The Crown Inn in Paull, and Lee was a regular customer!
Sue and Steve
Married couple Sue and Steve first appeared on the show back in 2019.
Steve is a taxi driver in London.
The original series of Gogglebox is currently off air at the moment, with the second series of Celebrity Gogglebox showing every Friday night on Channel 4.
The likes of Rylan Clark-Neal, Laura Whitmore, Stacey Solomon, Eamonn Holmes, KSI and Denise van Outen are all taking part with social distancing rules in place during filming.