Dermot Morgan heard five haunting final words before his untimely death aged just 45. The Father Ted star had just wrapped filming on the third and final series of the comedy show, in which he starred alongside Ardal O’Hanlon, Graham Norton and Pauline McLynn, when he fell ill over dinner. The star was taking medication for high blood pressure after a mandatory medical exam before filming began.

In February 1998, a day after filming wrapped, Dermot was hosting a dinner party in his Hounslow home with Scottish musician Jim Diamond and Dermot’s sister Denise. The star had complained about feeling unwell as the meal finished up, and Denise helped him into the bedroom.

She said: “He wasn't feeling great at the end of the meal and I went to the bedroom with him. He had a heart attack, and I didn't recognise it. From my limited training in first aid, I wasn't sure exactly what was happening. The symptoms didn't match what the books said.”

She told her brother: “I think you are okay,” and the pair returned to the dining room, where Dermot apologised to his guests for the interruption. Tragically, Denise revealed: “The next thing he just collapsed. We tried to resuscitate him but it didn't work.”

Dermot was rushed to hospital but sadly died soon after. It was reported that the “grind and stress” of years as an actor trying to achieve financial security led Dermot to a state “verging on mania”, according to The Guardian.

His co-star Frank Kelly, who played Father Jack Hackett on the sitcom, explained Dermot “barely passed the medical tests” to continue filming, explaining: “He was never quite satisfied with what he was doing. The next thing was going to be infinitely better. I used to say to him, 'Settle down Dermot, we have a lovely show here. Let's just do it.' He felt that was unambitious."

Mrs Doyle star McLynn added: “He was a very frustrated entertainer. He wanted everything, he wanted it all and I'm sorry he didn't have it all because he would have enjoyed it, for a time anyway, until he had his next idea."