'They were literally about to turn me off and on again': Robert Webb on his brush with mortality

A routine medical brought life-changing news for the comedian and author. And the curious thing was he'd predicted it in the novel he'd just finished writing

There are moments when your life changes over the length of a single word. For example, you might remember that particular time you heard the word "pregnant". Or maybe "divorce" or "congratulations" or "guilty". And maybe you remember the silence that followed and how it had a new weight to it. As if the silence were saying: "Look, if I'm expected to follow words like that, I'm going to need a bit more respect around here." That's how it was for me last October. I didn't get to choose my life-changing word, of course. If I had, I doubt I would have gone with "prolapse".

"It looks like a prolapse."