Mark Wright says his father, 64, is still ‘not completely better’

Mark Wright has said that his father is still ‘not completely better’ and that his family ‘worried for his life’ while he was in hospital battling coronavirus.  

The former TOWIE star’s, 33, parents Mark. Snr, 64, and Carol, 60, announced on New Year’s Eve they had been struck down by Covid-19, Mark. Snr has since returned home. 

Mark also revealed that two of his uncles are currently in hospital due to the virus with his uncle Eddie, 65, the father of his reality star cousin Elliott, in a coma and intensive care unit (ICU). 

Speaking on his Heart Evening Show on Monday night, the presenter made an impassioned plea for people to observe government guidelines to stop the spread of coronavirus. 

Mark also revealed that he had tested positive for Covid-19 last year but it didn’t affect him like it has his family.   

The emotional reality star said: ‘I want my life back. I want my family to be well again. I don’t want my family to have to worry anymore.  

‘I don’t want you to worry anymore. If you want to get your life back, the only way this will happen is if we obey by the government rules.’

Mark noted that people obeyed the government guidelines and rules ‘so much better’ during the first lockdown compared to the third lockdown, which was imposed in England last Monday. 

He said: ‘Now last time when this happened, last year’s lockdown, I saw such a difference. Everybody was sticking to the rules so much better than it feels this time and it’s coming back to bite us, harder, faster and tougher. 

‘Do you want to see your family members go through what I’m seeing right now? I understand if it hasn’t affected your family like it has affected mine, bloodlines are different, I don’t know the science of it.

‘But what I do know is that my father, my dad was suffering in hospital and we worried for his life for two weeks, he’s now home, he’s not completely better, he knows that and we know it. 

‘My other uncle, his brother, is in hospital right now, receiving oxygen, and their other brother, my uncle Eddie who I love dearly is currently in a coma in the ICU.’

Mark admitted that he wasn’t trying to get ‘too dark’ but by sharing personal information about how it has impacted his family, it will highlight how important the guidelines are.

He continued: ‘Now I’m trying not to be too dark but I’m trying to give you a personal from me, because I am seeing first hand, and I know if you haven’t seen it and you haven’t felt it the way I have, I understand it’s hard to believe it. 

‘It’s easy to sit and think, “You know what, it’s just for people that have got real underlying health issues, they were going to die of something anyway.” That’s not the case. 

‘A) that shouldn’t be a good excuse anyway because they don’t deserve to take this badly just because they’ve got an underlying health condition. And b) it’s not just that. My dad is a healthy man, so are my uncles.’

He added: ‘So look, I want to move on from this subject, but I just wanted to clear it up because it’s made a bit of the headlines from what I said on Good Morning Britain. 

‘My dad is doing okay, and I want him to know I love him very much. But look, please going forward, we stick together, we do this together and we do what we can to get us back to normal. 

‘Get us back to holidays, get us back to seeing our friends and dancing on the dance floor.’

Mark also admitted that he understands it’s a ‘tough situation’ and that he is aware that the virus affects everyone differently. 

He continued: ‘It is a tough situation, I understand, because there’s so many conspiracy theories that you hear from people.

‘Many people that don’t believe how real what is going on actually is, and I hear it first hand from friends of mine, very close friends of mine.

‘”Oh it’s just like a cold, it’s just like a flu,” “I know someone who had it,” “I had it, I was just tired, it didn’t hurt, it was fine” and I know that. We know that. It doesn’t affect everybody to the point of the way it affects some. 

‘It didn’t affect me when I had it back last year, the way it affected my family members, the way it is affecting my family members. 

‘I’ve always done my best to stand by what the government say, and the reason I do that is because I know the experts working with the government, are the best experts we have and that’s why they’re working for the government.’ 

It comes after Mark revealed on Monday that his father has been left ‘mentally’ changed by COVID-19 after being released from hospital.

Ex-TOWIE star Mark said his father was ‘not the same as four weeks ago’ during an appearance on Good Morning Britain. 

Mark’s uncle Eddie, the father of his reality star cousin Elliott, is in a ‘critical condition’ due to the virus – with the presenter making an impassioned plea for people to observe government guidelines to stop the spread of COVID-19. 

Mark said: ‘My dad is out of hospital now. One of my dad’s brothers is in hospital on oxygen. 

‘His other brother, my uncle Eddie, Elliott’s dad, is in a critical condition, we’re praying each night that he gets better. 

‘We are hearing from doctors that he’s not getting worse, but we’re still praying he gets through this.’ 

Mark emotionally spoke about the after-effects of the virus on his father, saying it had affected him mentally. 

He said: ‘I mean, he’s out of hospital and I hope he doesn’t mind me saying this but, mentally something’s not right there at the moment. 

‘He’s okay but he’s not my dad that he was four weeks ago. He’s better and I’m hoping there’s improvement more to come, but it can leave long lasting problems.’  

Mark then made an impassioned plea to people to listen to the government and follow the rules pertaining social distancing, mask wearing and household mixing.

He said: ‘The message is what it should have been and has been from the start, like Kate has tried to promote on Good Morning Britain until you see it first hand, that might be the day you realise I need to buck up my ideas, but then it might be too late.’    

‘I have good friends who are conspiracy theorists and they think it’s all rubbish and you don’t need to be locking down the country.

‘My answer is, the government, whether they are right or wrong, they know more than you, so, if they are telling you to do this, do it.

‘Because until you get to a point where I am now, and I’ve had the hardest few weeks of my life and looking at basically potentially losing family members who are close to you or them being very sick.    

‘You will regret doing what you are doing. So listen to the rules, stay at home, there is a lockdown for a reason.

‘Please just obey by these rules, it’s so important. When you see it first hand, it’s the most scariest virus you will ever see, the things it does to the body, what it’s done to my dad.  

The emotional star also begged people to ‘buck up their ideas’ before slamming anti-vaxxers, adding ‘you may not agree with the government but they know more than you.’

Mark’s beloved mother Carol, 60, took to Instagram last month to reveal to her 190,000 followers that she and her husband had been ‘attacked’ by the virus. 

Alongside a throwback snap of their holiday to Barbados, the Wright matriarch penned an impassioned caption about their battle and diagnosis and urged naysayers to ‘never believe the virus isn’t real’.  

In her caption, Carol penned: ‘Well what a year this has been. This Christmas and new year I was unable to spend it with my loved ones…

‘My hubby and I have got attacked with the virus all over Christmas, my husband is fighting it, I am suffering the worst coughing fits ever…   

‘But my hubby and me will pull through this. It has taught me something in life, never think that this virus isn’t real.  Never take things for granted, always be there for others and it’s made me appreciate life so much…

‘The little things in life are more important then the big ones…. 

‘Love and caring is all we need. Happy new year to every one and let’s hope next year is the best year for every one. I just want to thank the NHS for helping my husband hopefully recover this. Fingers crossed x.’

Last week Mark’s sister Jess, 35, revealed some of her family has been hospitalised by coronavirus. 

The former TOWIE star took to Instagram on Friday to detail how Covid has ripped through her family like ‘wildfire’, with some having to seek treatment in hospital.   

Jess wrote: ‘Covid has ripped through my family in the past month and it has been absolutely horrendous. Please stay safe everyone, stay home, wear masks and also check on loved ones regularly.  

‘The fight isn’t over for us yet, we are taking every day as it comes and praying a lot. This new strain seems to be spreading like wildfire. 

‘Thank you the well wishes for those who have known, for my family members that have been hospitalised by this awful, awful virus.’ 

Jess added it was important to also focus on mental health and help build others up as the nation negotiates the third lockdown.    

Carol and construction boss Mark are also parents to footballer Josh, 31 and influencer Natalya, 19. 

Carol joined TOWIE as a permanent cast member from the inaugural series in 2010, and stayed on screens after both her children departed. 

The family are famously extremely close, leaving Carol devastated at spending Christmas apart. 

News of their diagnosis comes shortly after Mark took to Twitter to pen: ‘The Government have of course explained how fast this new variant is spreading, but I think it is hard to understand quite how fast…

‘I cannot stress how many people I know, from immediate family to best friends and distant friends who currently have covid. It’s rife. Stay safe.’   

On Monday, Chris Whitty warned the next few weeks are set to be the worst yet for the NHS as the government begs people not to ‘push the boundaries’ of the lockdown – and threatens to make it even tougher.

The chief medical officer took to the airwaves to highlight the scale of the threat, saying that there are 30,000 people in hospital compared to the peak of 18,000 in April.

Amid a crackdown on stopping to chat in the street and in shops, Prof Whitty urged people to remember that ‘every unnecessary contact’ was an opportunity for the virus to spread.

He insisted that although the situation in the NHS is the ‘most dangerous situation anyone can remember’ vaccines mean the UK can be back to normal in ‘months not years’ – but he cautioned that the situation is a long way from that currently.

The intervention came amid fears that the number of daily deaths is on track to rise to 2,000, with Boris Johnson looking at tightening the national lockdown rules even more dramatically if cases keep surging.  

The UK announced a further 573 coronavirus deaths earlier this week, in the highest Sunday rise since April, and the third-deadliest Sunday of the entire pandemic as it emerged as many as one-in-five of all people in England may have had coronavirus. 

It could be as high as one in two people in some areas of east London and Essex, the modelling by Edge Health claims.

Infections also continue to be high, with 54,940 announced on Sunday – the thirteenth day in a row they have been above the 50,000 mark.