Skip to main contentSkip to footer

Gogglebox star Shaun Malone had terrifying battle with brain disease as a child

The Gogglebox star has thankfully made a full recovery


malone gogglebox
Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
June 5, 2020
Share this:

We love watching the Malone family, Tom and Julie and their two sons, Tom Jr and Shaun, as they tune in to put on the telly every week on Gogglebox. But the family have previously opened up about their horrifying experience after Shaun underwent brain surgery when a common head cold developed into a rare brain disease back in 2010. 

shaun malone gogglebox

Shaun appeared on Children's Hospital

Previously speaking to the Mirror about the experience, Julie explained: "We were absolutely frantic. The doctor said Shaun only had a slim chance of surviving surgery, that there were no beds available. Tom said I just went doolally saying, 'He's going to be fine, he's going to be fine'. Thankfully Tom was level-headed and really pushed them." 

She continued: "When a bed was finally found Shaun spent six hours in surgery to remove a piece of bone from his skull because of the swelling. He was in a coma for two weeks and when he came around had to learn to walk all over again." Shaun's road to recovery was documented in the ITV show Children's Hospital. 

gogglebox malone family dogs snacks

Shaun is now fully recovered

Shaun, who is now a football coach and previously appeared as Michael in the West End production of Billy Elliot, also opened up about that time in his life, explaining: "I spent six months in hospital and was so down when I came out, but then I went to the [football] club and saw players with all sorts of disabilities. I stopped feeling sorry for myself and gave myself a kick up the bum. It makes me feel really good to be able to help young kids and I hope they look at me and realise that you can make something of yourself no matter what life brings."

READ: Why did these 7 Gogglebox stars quit the show?

tom shaun

Tom and Shaun after he returned home from hospital

Shaun is now back to full health, and the family have previously spoken about his recovery on Gogglebox, with Tom recounting a somewhat harsh prank Shaun once played after his surgery. 

READ: Gogglebox stars with their kids you never see on the show

While watching a news story about brain surgery, Tom explained: "The worst thing was he had the shunt thing put in the side of his head and all his skull was missing, he had a woolly hat on, and I brought him to McDonald's down the road. He got an ice cream and he was sucking on it, and there was this girl going round cleaning the tables in McDonald's, and he took his hat off and went, 'Ahhhh... brain freeze!' He turned around and all his head was gone. She nearly fainted. [Expletive] hell, she nearly went under. Do you remember that?" Shaun laughed, replying: "Oh yeah, that was cruel." 

Sign up to Off Camera for all the gossip and goings-on from the wonderful world of TV and film

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

More TV and Film

See more