Daisy May Cooper says her This Country co-star was visited by a “presence” that correctly predicted when exactly he would die.
Michael Sleggs, who played Slugs in the BBC Three comedy series, died from heart failure in July 2019, aged 33.
Cooper, who, along with her brother and fellow This Country star Charlie Cooper, was a childhood friend of Sleggs, and reflected on his death in a new interview.
“He’d been in constant pain his entire life – even walking caused him pain,” Cooper told The Guardian, adding that “it was horrible” when Sleggs was placed in palliative care as “he was terrified of dying”.
However, according to Cooper, Sleggs “had a visitation from an angelic presence, which sat at the end of his bed and told him, ‘In seven days, you will have a new body at midnight”.
Sleggs would die seven days later at 11.59pm. The outlet notes that Cooper is unsure whether this was “real” or “a powerful example of bodily self-determination”.
Elsewhere, the comedy star, whose credits include Am I Being Unreasonable? and Rain Dogs, opened up about “encounters” she’s had with ghosts, stating: “It’s isolating, because people think you’re mad. But it exists.”
Cooper said one such moment occurred while she was suffering from viral meningitis in 2018. While alone in a hospital room, she said: “If there’s anybody in here, can you speak into the microphone?” and heard, in response, a tiny female voice saying: “Don’t be afraid.” She now has those words tattooed on her wrist.
Days before Sleggs died, he shared a message on Facebook that read: “Hi friends, as a lot of you are probably aware I’ve spent a lot of time in and out of hospital over the past few months.
“This last time it was decided I was reaching the end of options so they’ve sent me home on palliative care to live out the remainder of my days at home. No specific time limit has been given but deterioration has been fairly rapid.”
He added: “Anyway as you can imagine this isn’t the ideal way I wished things to go and my family are dealing with a lot of grief.”
