Judy nearly died after developing stomach ulcers caused by taking painkillers on an empty stomach.

Richard Madeley has opened up about the terrifying moment his wife, Judy Finnigan, almost died after she vomited a litre of blood six years ago, in 2019.

Speaking about the incident — which happened in 2019 — Richard, who was 63 at the time, admitted it was “touch and go” after Judy, 71, was rushed to hospital.

“She’d been taking Ibuprofen for her sore knees, and she had no idea that taking them on an empty stomach could seriously damage the stomach lining,” he told The Sun.

Richard revealed that he later woke up to find his wife of 33 years vomiting blood. The TV presenter continued: “I dialled 999 and the ambulance arrived in about four minutes.

“They put her on a drip and got her to the Royal Free in Hampstead, and she had two blood transfusions.”

After arriving at the hospital, Judy had to undergo emergency surgery to remove four ulcers above the stomach lining—including one in an artery—which caused the massive bleed.

“It was touch and f***ing go,” Richard continued.

“While she was coming round from the surgery, the surgeon said, ‘She’s going to be fine. Did you call the ambulance immediately?’

“I said, ‘Yes,’ and he replied, ‘Good, because if you’d waited another 20 minutes, she probably would have bled out. Half an hour at most and she would have died.’”

At the time, Richard was still presenting Good Morning Britain during Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid’s half-term break, while Judy’s last television appearance had been in October 2014 as a regular panelist on Loose Women.

Speaking about her decision to leave showbusiness, Richard explained: “She completely stepped away from TV.

“Despite how successful and talented she was as a presenter, she was the most reluctant TV presenter I’ve ever known.

“She didn’t enjoy it much. She enjoyed the work itself and she was incredibly good at it, but she really didn’t like the whole fame thing because she’s very shy.”