Daisy May Cooper breaks down in tears while paying tribute to late ‘This Country’ co-star Michael Sleggs
This Country actor Daisy May Cooper broke down in tears on air this week as she spoke about co-star Michael Sleggs, who passed away in 2019.
Cooper got emotional during an episode of Loose Women while paying tribute to Sleggs, who starred alongside her and brother Charlie in their BBC documentary-style comedy series.
Appearing on the October 23 episode of the ITV panel show, Cooper opened up about conversations she had with Sleggs near the end of his life. “When Michael was dying, he was in so much pain and agony and he was terrified,” she said.
“He phoned me and he said, ‘You know, Daisy, I’m not scared anymore. I had this kind of angelic, spiritual kind of being that came to me and said that in seven days I would have a new body, which means I’m either going to get better or I’m going to pass away, but I’ll be free of this pain’.
“And he died within seven days. I think that’s extraordinary. There are so many things you can’t explain.”
Sleggs died as a result of heart problems, and struggled with illness throughout his life, including a bout of cancer as a teenager. He played Michael ‘Slugs’ Sluggette in This Country, neighbour to Daisy May and Charlie Cooper’s characters, Kerry and Kurtan Mucklowe. It was Sleggs’ only on-screen role, and was written specifically for him by the show’s creators.
Cooper recounted her experiences with Sleggs as part of introducing her new book, Hexy Bitch: Tales From My Life, The Afterlife, And Beyond, which explores her fascination with the paranormal and ghost-hunting.
She continued: “I was kind of losing faith with it all, while I was writing this book. And I said to Charlie, ‘If anybody was going to come back, and let me know they were alright, it would be [Michael], and he hadn’t’.
“When Slugs was dying, I said, ‘What are you most gutted about missing out on?’ and he said ‘The Phoenix Festival’. He genuinely meant it. It was this naff little festival in our town that he loved because it was free, and it was within walking distance of his house, and there was a Guns N’ Roses tribute act playing.
“I said, ‘Honestly, you’re gutted about missing out on that?’ and he said ‘Yeah, I really am’.”
The actor went on: “Me and my partner are laid in bed. It’s about 7 o’clock in the morning, and there’s this banging on the bedroom door. And I’m like, ‘It can’t be the cats!’. We both heard it, we’ve got cameras on the landing and stuff, and there was nothing.”
Cooper started to get emotional as she said “And my god, it turned out that that was the day of the Phoenix Festival.” She then burst into tears, as fellow panellists Ruth Langsford and Mariella Frostrup comforted her.
This Country ran for three series between 2017 and 2020. Cooper will next be seen in series two of Am I Being Unreasonable?, where she plays Nic, a grieving mum to young son Ollie. That second series will reunite her on screen with brother Charlie. Its release date is yet to be announced.
Elsewhere, Cooper last year addressed rumours about whether she could appear in the next James Bond movie, and shared that she was offered a role in the latest Fast & Furious movie.
Hexy Bitch: Tales From My Life, The Afterlife, And Beyond is on sale now.
The post Daisy May Cooper breaks down in tears while paying tribute to late ‘This Country’ co-star Michael Sleggs appeared first on NME.
Sophie Butcher
NME
