Samantha Morton Opens Up About Suffering A Stroke

Samantha Morton has revealed she almost died after suffering a stroke.

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The 30-year-old actress had to learn to walk again and carry out basic tasks after she was hospitalized in 2006.

The stroke - which is caused by a disturbance of blood supply to the brain - was brought on after a piece of ceiling struck Samantha on her head at her London home.

She said: "I was near to death. I had a stroke at the beginning of 2006."

The mother-of-two thanked her close friend, Spiritualized rocker Jason Pierce, for supporting her throughout her difficult recovery.

She revealed in an interview with Britain's Observer Music Monthly magazine, to be published next week: "He was the only person I knew who understood what that was like, being near to death. He is very courageous and he helped me get through it all."

At the time, Jason had just recovered from a severe bout of pneumonia. Strokes affect only a thousand people a year of Samantha's age or younger.

The first signs are partial paralysis, slurred speech and loss of vision. Recovery involves physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and even help with swallowing and using the toilet.

Samantha - who has two daughters, Esme and Edie - took an 18-month break from acting as she recovered.