Entertainment

Hugh Grant reveals he and wife Anna Eberstein had Covid-19 in February

The actor said it felt like a large man was sitting on his chest.
The actor said it felt like a large man was sitting on his chest. The actor said it felt like a large man was sitting on his chest.

Hugh Grant has revealed that he and his wife Anna Eberstein suffered with coronavirus in February.

The Undoing actor, 60, said he realised he was unwell when he sprayed perfume in his face and could not smell anything.

He told The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: “My wife and I had it – way back in the winter.

“I have antibodies, I’m rather proud of them, so we’re not going to get it, I don’t think.

“I think I got it in February. I’ve had an antibody test, only a month ago. I still have those antibodies, so I know that’s what it was.

“It started as just a very strange syndrome where I kept breaking into a terrible sweat.

“It was like a poncho of sweat, embarrassing really. Then my eyeballs felt about three sizes too big and this feeling as though an enormous man was sitting on my chest – Harvey Weinstein or someone.”

“I thought I don’t know what this is. Then I was walking down the street one day and I thought I can’t smell a damn thing and you start to panic.

“By then people were just starting to talk about this as a symptom.

“And I started sniffing flowers, nothing. And you get more and more desperate. I started sniffing in garbage cans. You know, you want to sniff strangers’ armpits because you just can’t smell anything.”

“I eventually went home and I sprayed my wife’s Chanel No. 5 directly into my face. Couldn’t smell a thing, but I did go blind.”

Grant told Colbert he has been playing with Barbies while quarantined with his children and he said: “To start with I think I’m just being nice and then I realised even after my girls went to bed I’m still playing with the Barbies.

“I enjoyed making them fall in love, they became very fond of each other, these two Barbies.

“One of them was Barbie and one of them was Elsa from Frozen. They developed an affair.

“I took photos of them kissing each other and sent them to friends, this is what happens in a very long lockdown.”