Australian TV legend Bert Newton has reportedly undergone a leg amputation, a result of a “life or death decision” the 82-year-old faced in his latest battle with poor health.
Channel Nine entertainment reporter, Peter Ford, broke the news on-air this morning, saying he’d been in contact with Mr Newton’s family over the weekend.
Mr Ford said that Newton’s latest health woes had begun pre-Christmas last year with an infected toe.
“It got worse … he was seeing doctors and specialists and they couldn’t seem to get it right, it kept on spreading. Basically he was told last week, you have a couple of months to live, or if you have your leg amputated, you’ll probably have a few years. So, he agreed to have the leg amputated on Saturday,” Mr Ford said.
He described it as a “life or death decision that was presented to (Newton).”
Mr Ford said the amputation would mean some big adjustments for Bert and his wife of 47 years, Patti.
“It’s a big decision for anyone to make, but it’s also a practical thing, because they live in a two-storey place with the bedrooms and the bathrooms upstairs, so they’re now having to convert the house downstairs because Patti doesn’t want him to go into a nursing home,” he said.
But despite the setback, Mr Ford said the Newtons were keen for fans to know they didn’t view theirs as a “sad” story.
“They said, ‘We had a choice. Other people don’t have a choice. Bert wants to keep on living, because he adores Patti, his children and his grandkids, and he wants to have as much time as he can with them’.”
Fears for the TV icon’s health were last sparked in November 2020 when Patti shared a photo of him in a hospital bed on social media.
“Bert’s been in hospital, all good,” she wrote alongside the image. “He’s got a lot of living to do.”
