John Savident’s health history: After his death at the age of 86 – how the Corrie actor recovered from life-saving heart surgery and a terrifying stabbing ordeal

Coronation Street star John Savident has died aged 86, it was confirmed on Friday.

The actor was known for his booming voice while playing butcher Fred Elliott on the long-running ITV soap.

Fred is well remembered for his friend Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls) declaring her love for him just as he was due to marry Bev Unwin (Susie Blake).

Prior to his death, John had various health issues that caused him to given life-saving heart surgery. He also survived after being stabbed in an attack in 2002. 

Read on below for a look at the Corrie star’s troubled health history…

Prior to his death, John Savident had various health issues that caused him to given life-saving heart surgery. He also survived after being stabbed in an attack in 2002

The actor was known for his booming voice while playing butcher Fred Elliott on the long-running ITV soap. Pictured here Sue Nicholls as Audrey Roberts

Surviving a stabbing in Manchester 

In 2002, Savident was violently attacked after meeting a male prostitute in Manchester’s gay village.

Savident met Michael Smith, from Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, at a bar on Canal Street before Mr Smith subsequently stabbed him in the neck. 

It was alleged that the pair continued chatting into the early hours of the morning after returning to John’s flat before Mr Smith orchestrated the attack in the host’s bedroom, which saw the Coronation Street star lose two pints of blood.

Speaking to the court after the stabbing, John said that when he went into his bedroom to plug his mobile phone in to charge, before he was shoved face-down into his bed at knifepoint.

Recounting the incident, the actor said: ‘I was totally surprised. I suddenly felt somebody come up behind me and whizz me round so I was face down on the bed and then I felt a prick on my throat.’

‘He said to me something like, ”I bet you have never met a schizo before’, which was really quite frightening,’ John added.

Smith – who was found to have drank beer and half a litre of vodka – was subsequently jailed for seven years following the incident. 

Undergoing heart surgery

In 2007, the actor confirmed he was waiting for heart surgery, saying at the time: ‘Next year I am having a heart operation. I am having a new valve in. I am sick of the one I have got.’

In 2002, Savident was violently attacked after meeting male prostitute Michael Smith in Manchester’s gay village

Savident appeared in a scene from the unaired pilot of Blackadder alongside Elspet Gray on June 20 1982

Speaking shortly after undergoing the procedure that year, John shared that he had been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.

He told The Herald: ‘Three months’ convalescence is quite enough. Because I’ve not been onstage for such a long time that one forgets the energy and drive and dynamism required to sustain things. 

So I found myself getting very tired very quickly, and there was one performance that was very bad, which I found really quite frightening. I’m on top of it now, but now I’ve also been diagnosed with diabetes.’

Requiring a hip replacement to perform in Shakespeare production

Four years later, in 2011, the veteran actor shared that his previous health struggles and other operations had taken their toll, requiring him to have a hip replacement.

However, he remained upbeat at the time, speaking of his excitement after accepting a role perform in Shakespeare’s The Dream. 

‘Now, in what I call the tea-time of my career, I’ve turned down quite a bit of work because I had a heart operation and a new hip,’ he told Manchester Evening News. 

‘But working on this script for Shakespeare’s The Dream has been an absolute pleasure. I’ll be using the text wherever possible set to Mendelsshon’s score and as it’s mainly the fairy scenes it’ll be delightful.’ 

John led a more secluded life after leaving Corrie, but did appeared in a pantomime version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as the henchman, alongside Corrie co-star Suranne Jones, which also featured Justin Moorhouse and Warwick Davis. 

His final credited role saw him perform as Gary Brennan in the 2019 production of The Life and Times of Mim Stewart. 

In 2011, the veteran actor shared that his previous health struggles and other operations had taken their toll, requiring him to have a hip replacement