MARK Wright broke down in tears as he revealed the horrific moment his Uncle Eddie died of coronavirus.
The 34-year-old TV and radio star told The Sun he rushed to be with his devastated dad after getting “the dreaded phone call”.
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Eddie, the heart of the Wright family, died last month after four other loved ones ended up in hospital over Christmas.
Speaking about his cousin, he said: “Elliot would message me and say he’s not too well and they’re thinking about putting him in a coma.
“It’s hard to re-live it. I never thought I would have to do this but I think it’s important to raise awareness.
“In the end you get the dreaded phone call. I burst into tears. At that point my attention went from it being my uncle to being my dad’s brother.
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“It was the first time in my life that I had to be there for my dad. I just went over to him and grabbed him and he put his head into my neck and cried.
“I just said to him: Dad, let it go.”
The star warned: “My family never even mixed, they never even saw each other and they all got it at the same time.”
Mark was reeling from six relatives getting the virus within days of each other when his beloved uncle Eddie died last month.
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Devastated Mark described the 65-year-old as the heart of the Wright family ā and he says he will never get over it.
Mark revealed he prayed day and night when his family were in Āhospital, crying as he told The Sun: āI could have lost them all.
āIām struggling to cope with this. In December and January I was at a point with a grandma, grandpa, mum, dad and uncle ā when I could have lost them all.
āCovid tore my family apart and itās not going to be the same again.ā
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He is utterly heartbroken at the tragic loss of Eddie ā father to Markās cousin, Towie star Elliott WrightĀ.
Mark said: āI am sat here one uncle less. Heās the heart of our family. Weāre all heartbroken beyond belief. Iām trying to be there for many, many family members who are devastated.
āMy uncle was 65, itās a massive shock to us ā we donāt know what weāre going to do without him.
āEddieās sons, my cousins Elliott and Edward, are like my brothers.
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āIt feels worse that itās a new virus. If it was something else like cancer it would be just as hard.
āBut Covid feels so alien and Iāve lost someone so close to something so new. I struggle with this because it didnāt have to happen. Why did this virus have to take him?ā
Mark speaks harrowingly of how Covid rules meant he was unable to visit his grandmother Irene, dad Mark Snr or his uncle Eddie while they were in hospital.
He eventually used FaceTime to talk to his dad and communicated with his nan through a window from the car park.
āI prayed every day and nightā
He recalled: āIāve never been that religious but I prayed every day and night when my dad was in hospital.
āThe worry level was one million for me and I couldnāt go and see him because youāre not allowed.
āI thought if I lose my dad, Iām never going to get over this. My dadās got asthma.
āI was just at home waiting for news. My brother sent a message I never want to read again.
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āIt said, āIām really worried about Dad, his eyes donāt look right, his colour has gone and his oxygen levels are really low so we called an ambulance and they said theyāve got to take him right nowā.
āAt that point, when youāre not with your dad, you think youāll never see him again.
āI couldnāt go to the hospital. I couldnāt say āGoodbyeā.
āI managed to FaceTime my dad after two days ā he had pipes coming out of his face and nose.
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āI got the image on my phone and I cried my eyes out looking at the picture. I told him he will be OK and just breathe.
āMy dadās a very proud man and he tried to not let us worry.ā
His mum Carol and another uncle Georgie, 62, got Covid too but were not admitted to hospital.
When Markās 85-year-old grandmother Irene also caught the virus, the family prepared for the worst.
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She ended up in hospital for more than a month, unable to get a negative test and return home to her husband Eddie.
Mark said: āMy nan gets Covid at the start of December. They kept testing her and she wouldnāt get a negative test.
āShe couldnāt understand why they were keeping her in. She thought we were punishing her. For about a month weād have to go to the hospital car park and talk to her through the window.
āShe would cry and say sheād want to come out, but we couldnāt let her home because we didnāt want my grandad to get it.
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āFinally, she gets a negative test and comes home. In the middle of this my grandad gets Covid.ā
His uncle Eddie also came down with the virus shortly after Christmas and was taken to hospital ā and weeks later Mark got a phone call he had been dreading.
He sobbed: āElliott said heās going into a coma and we knew it wasnāt good. They moved him out of ICU to a ward where (wife) Deborah could be by his side day and night.
āWe got a video of him moving his head and that was the first time he moved because he was sort of paralysed. It was an improvement and Deborah was really happy ā it was a massive step.
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āBut then he started to get more infections. In the end, you get the dreaded call saying heās just deteriorated overnight and heās probably going to die today.
āHe was getting better. Thatās what f***ing upsets me so much.ā Mark revealed how wife Michelle Keegan supported him as he comforted his dad over Eddie.
He recalled: āIāve never seen my dad shed a tear ā heās the warmest man but heās such a proud man, quite reserved. I knew we were going to lose Eddie and I just went to be with him. I burst into tears and he stayed strong.
āI knew how much Eddie was his best mate ā itās my dadās big brother who he looks up to.
TIMELINE OF TURMOIL
EARLY DEC, 2020
MARKāS 85-year-old nan is released from hospital after having Covid but testing negative.
The family spent a heart-breaking month communicating with her through the hospital window after more than a month of positive tests.
DECEMBER 20
HIS dad tests positive for Covid.
Soon after Markās dadās older brother Georgie is taken to hospital with the killer virus.
DECEMBER 22
MARKāS 87-year-old grandad is struck down with the virus.
LATE DECEMBER
THE star gets a call from cousin Elliott to say his dad Eddie ā Markās uncle ā has Covid too.
JANUARY 20, 2021
MARK has to self- isolate on his birthday after a Covid outbreak at his team, Crawley FC. Wife Michelle is OK to film Brassic in Manchester.
MARCH 2021
THE family lose Eddie Wright after he has spent eight weeks in a coma battling the virus.
āI always turn to him but this is the first time in my life I had to be there for my dad.
āI could tell he was broken-hearted but he didnāt cry. He just sat there and was hollow. Michelle texted me saying, āWhat is your dad doing right now? Go hug himā. Iāve never really hugged my dad for years since Iāve been grown up. We donāt really do that.
āI had just lost my uncle, the worst day of my life. I had to flip my attention to my dad because when heās stressed, he bottles it up. Itās the first time in my life I told him to let it go.
āThen he cried and we hugged, itās a weird moment. On one hand Iāve lost my uncle and Iām never going to see him again, I loved him so much. On the other hand, I had a moment with my dad that Iāve probably been waiting for all my life ā but it will never heal the pain of losing Eddie.ā
The horrifying experience has left Mark a changed man who wants to live life to the full in honour of his uncle. He said: āItās changed my outlook on life ā made me realise you canāt dwell on little things.
āI have this inner strength because Eddie would do everything for anyone. He was a strong man and he wouldnāt want me to dwell on this but to remember him.
āEddie loved what I did for a Āliving, maybe even more than my own parents. He knew every time I was on TV or in The Sun.
āHe knew everything about my career and read everything I did, so Iām going to miss that support.
āBut itās made me want to make him proud even more.
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āMy uncle Eddie was the guy that kept us all together and Iām not going to let that slip. He was all about the Wright family. I am going to keep that alive for him.
āIām going to be there for my aunty Debbie, my cousins, my nan and grandad. I am going to be so grateful I had the best uncle ever.ā Mark wants to concentrate less on work and spend more time with loved ones.
He said: āItās made me think about how short my life is going to be, Iām nearly halfway through if Iām lucky.
āIām a bit too driven, I canāt say no and I work too much. I donāt spend enough time with people I should. Itās taught me to spend more time doing things I love with the people I love at home and not trying to get the next job.ā
Mark is also urging Sun readers not to be complacent and to take the virus more seriously as the UK comes out of lockdown. He said: āDonāt be like me, donāt lose a family member. Keep your distance and wash your hands ā until weāre out of the woods.
MARK was talking to raise awareness of Covid and the dangers that exist around infection.
