Coronation Street star's husband dies after jumping into unheated pool

By Tom McArdle

The husband of a Coronation Street actress died after jumping into a cold outdoor swimming pool, which he had thought was heated.

Julian Spear suffered a brain haemorrhage because of the low temperature of the water at a David Lloyd health club, Carol Royle, his widow, said.

Mr. Spear, a musician and promoter who helped The Boomtown Rats and The Stranglers to break through and worked with Bon Jovi and Elton John during his time at Phonogram, saw steam coming from the water and assumed it was heated, as it had been on previous occasions.

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Afterwards, the 74-year-old drove home from the health club in Hampton, south-west London, and collapsed in the couple's house in nearby Twickenham on Sunday afternoon, his wife said.

The couple had two children together.

Mr. Spear was rushed to West Middlesex Hospital but died on Monday after suffering internal bleeding in the brain.

Paying tribute to her husband, Ms. Royle, who plays Anthea Deering in the ITV soap, said, "I am desperately sorry to post that we lost my wonderful husband, Julian Spear, today, Dec 9.

"Perfectly fit man but jumped into a freezing outdoor pool which he assumed was heated as per usual yesterday, and he developed a sudden massive brain haemorrhage – our hearts are aching.

"We met at 14 years old and were childhood sweethearts. We went our separate ways, of course, but we reunited in 1977 and had been together since then. He was the healthiest person you could meet, he ate organic food and wholefood.

"He loved life, unbelievably passionate about music. He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of music from 1960s to present. He loved quiz games because of that – he used to make me bad-tempered because he got everything right all the time."

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She said Mr. Spear ran and swam several times a week in the last few years, adding, "He completed me, one hundred per cent. He was kind, genuine, generous and lived life to the full.

"Apparently there were signs warning the pool was unheated that day but we don't know where these signs were exactly and how prominent they were."

A David Lloyd spokesman told The Daily Mail "We are sorry to hear of the passing of Julian Spear who was a member at our Hampton Club. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends."

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