Actor in hospital dash 'nearly died' after suffering 'deformed' skull'

Craig Russell said there was "a very real chance" he would not see his latest film finished after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour following filming. The actor, 48, who is based in Falmouth, Cornwall with his 40-year-old wife, Kate, and their two sons, Teddy, 10, and Henry, seven, first noticed he was experiencing memory loss, migraines and brain fog in September 2022 before his partner encouraged him to seek a GP appointment. It later emerged the on-screen star had "nearly died" after a lime-sized brain tumour grew undetected for more than a decade and left him with a "deformed" skull.

Doctors discovered that he was going blind in his left eye and after being referred for CT and MRI scans, a large, benign tumour the size of a squashed lime was found growing in his brain, "deforming" his skull. The tumour was believed to have been growing for 15 years and Craig underwent a risky operation to have the mass removed in March 2023. However, the operation could have left him blind. Part of his damaged skull was removed and rebuilt from a plastic-concrete mix, held in place by bolts and "55 staples" in his scalp.

Craig, who stars in his most recent film Protein was released June 13, feared he wouldn't have got a chance to watch the finished product.

"Someone asked me if I thought I'd ever see the film finished, which was a sobering idea as I nearly died before it came out," Craig told PA Real Life in a new interview.

"I'm so glad I was there to see it, I don't know if you can watch movies from the afterlife, so I just have a lot of pride for everyone involved.

"I feel lucky to have had a brain tumour in a way because I've learnt so much about life, people and resilience."

The actor first began experiencing symptoms in 2022 including brain fog, memory loss, confusion and migraines.

He also heard a "whooshing" sound emerge from the back of his head when producing a guttural scream during filming for the movie Edge of Summer, which "nearly caused (him) to collapse".

"My surgeon explained my tumour had been growing there for about 15 years, and it appeared to have enveloped all the important stuff I needed to survive," he said.

"There was a very real chance I wouldn't survive the operation because one little mistake and that's it, or at best I could come out blind or have a stroke."

Craig underwent a seven-hour operation in March 2023, which involved cutting away a piece of his skull, which had become damaged by the tumour.

"My head still hurts occasionally but I'm now back to full health," Craig said.

He has acted in TV shows such as Hollyoaks, where he played Detective Inspector Mark Gascoyne for 21 episodes, Netflix's docudrama Queen Cleopatra, Amazon Prime's Riches, The Last Kingdom and EastEnders - to name a few.

He has also taken roles in films, such as Canaries, Bittersweet Symphony and The Hatton Garden Job.

Protein is in select cinemas now and will be released on digital platforms from July 14.

For more information please visit Brain Tumour Research