Kerry Wilson complained of having ‘the sniffles’ and later died, her heartbroken mother Linda has revealed (Picture: BBC/Facebook)
Entertainer Kerry Wilson, who appeared on the BBC in shows including The Jonathan Ross Show, has died at the age of 56 after contracting the flu.
Described by her heartbroken mother Linda as a ‘comedian, an impressionist, a singer, and an all-round entertainer’, Wilson had no previous health issues before she died shortly after New Year.
After telling Linda she felt ‘a bit sniffly’, Wilson’s condition deteriorated as her oxygen levels decreased.
Within 12 hours Wilson was in a coma on a ventilator, and later died. Linda revealed the flu she was suffering was called influenza A, which affects the lungs and can lead to pneumonia.
‘We thought she was starting to recover, but then she contracted sepsis. A little while later she was gone. It was really rapid and totally unexpected,’ Linda told StokeonTrentLive.
Family were by Wilson’s side when her life support was switched off.
Wilson appeared on a number of BBC shows as an entertainer (Picture: BBC)
She performed on The Jonathan Ross Show too (Picture: BBC)
Linda has remembered her daughter as someone who ‘made everybody smile’. Adding to the heartbreak, Linda explained how her other child – Wilson’s younger brother – died 30 years ago aged just 24.
‘I’ve experienced losing a child before, but I never thought it would happen again. The grief was unreal,’ she said.
Remembering her daughter – who was something of a Stoke-on-Trent local celebrity – Linda said: ‘In the 80s and 90s, Kerry was like a local celebrity. She opened events doing impressions, sometimes as Mrs Thatcher, she was always in the Pantomimes at the Regent, and she did lots of things for Radio Stoke.’
Kerry’s Facebook bio now reads: ‘Once upon a time I was a pro impressionist & singer – had an interesting life that’s for sure.’ (Picture: Kerry Wilson/Facebook)
She added: ‘She was a comedian, an impressionist, a singer, and an all-round entertainer. She had a beautiful, beautiful voice. She had a very eclectic career and she did so many amazing things.
‘When she was on TV, it was before the time of Netflix and all of that. So you had the BBC or ITV and that was your lot. Around 15 million people saw how talented she was.’
Linda also urged others to get their flu jabs, revealing Wilson’s friends have flocked to chemists to get theirs after her late daughter didn’t.
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