Coronavirus: Author Michael Rosen told he ‘might not wake up’ during Covid-19 illness

Author Michael Rosen has said doctors warned him he "might not wake up" while he was being treated for Covid-19.

The former children's Laureate, 74, spent three months in hospital - 47 days of which were on a ventilator - after contracting coronavirus in March.

He told the BBC that at one point doctors "handed me a piece of paper and said you've got a 50/50 chance".

After asking "are you telling me I might not wake up?", he said he was told "'Yes', then I signed something".

The We're Going On A Bear Hunt writer is now recovering at home with his wife, radio producer Emma-Louise Williams.

She used Twitter to update fans about her husband's illness, describing his time on a ventilator as a "long and difficult" seven weeks.

Last week, Rosen used the platform himself to thank healthcare workers who "saved my life and have got me from horizontal to hobbling".

He added that he would be "forever grateful" for their "huge efforts" since he was admitted to hospital in March.

The author, who was children's Laureate from 2007 to 2009, is best known for works including Little Rabbit Foo Foo and Tiny Little Fly.

His 2008 poem These Are The Hands was written to mark the 60th anniversary of the NHS.

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