Under the microscope

Singer Engelbert Humperdinck, 85, answers our health quiz

CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS?

NOT quite. In January 2021 I got Covid, so I’ve been working myself back slowly into fit mode. At my home in LA I’ve got a gym with a treadmill, cross trainer and a rowing machine. A few months ago, I lost my wife Patricia [82] following a battle with Alzheimer’s. I stayed close to home to be with her.

GET YOUR FIVE A DAY?

YES. Breakfast is chilli, egg and onions on toast. I have a juicer and throw in carrots, celery, beetroot and sometimes a little cauliflower, which I drink as a daily supplement.

EVER DIETED?

FREQUENTLY. I’m 6 ft 1 in and 14 st. I feel in good shape now but, a couple of years ago, I weighed 17 st because of stress. My wife was poorly and I was eating the wrong foods. Right now, I have a flat tummy.

HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC AFFECTED YOU?

AFTER nearly a year of caution, Covid found a way into our home. Then I had long Covid for four months, which left me with stiff fingers, backache and my legs didn’t work properly.

ANY VICES?

I LOVE a cognac but I drink enough to be merry, then I stop.

WORST ILLNESS?

IN MY mid-20s, I got tuberculosis and was in hospital for six months. It was caused by malnutrition. When I first started in the business, I was on the breadline.

ANY FAMILY AILMENTS?

MY MOTHER had plenty of heart attacks, but she had ten children so that heart worked hard over the years. I’ve never had heart problems.

EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?

MANY times. Depression happens when people have problems and I’ve had a lot of problems. For me, golf is the best cure — conversation, walking the course, then the 19th hole bevvy.

TRIED ALTERNATIVE REMEDIES?

I LOVE acupuncture, which has been good recently for easing my back pain. I also have two massages a week.

EVER HAVE PLASTIC SURGERY?

NO. MY parents never had wrinkles and one of my sisters just turned 100 and she doesn’t either. It’s genetics!

POP ANY PILLS?

I TAKE vitamins C and D3 and K for bone strength and boosting immunity.

COPE WELL WITH PAIN?

I HAVE a pretty good tolerance. One time I was skiing and twisted my left leg all the way around. All the tendons were loose and you could sway my leg from side to side.

WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT?

THINKING of song lyrics but the cure is keeping a recorder by my bed.

ANY PHOBIAS?

YES. Spiders, snakes, rats, mice and cockroaches. n EngElbErt HumpErdinck will be touring the uk from October 31, 2021. tickets are available at biglink.to/EHtickets