Rolf Harris is ‘very sick and unwell’ after neck cancer battle, author says
A private ambulance has been photographed outside the riverside home of Rolf Harris, who has been ‘very ill’ with neck cancer since leaving prison, MailOnline can reveal today.
The disgraced TV star, 93, has had trouble speaking or eating and has been living like a near-recluse in his £5million home in Berkshire since he was released from prison in 2017 for a series of sex offenses.
His wife Alwen, 91, a jeweler and sculptor, is confined to a wheelchair due to Alzheimer’s disease, but the couple, who married in 1958 and have one child, live together with the help of 24-hour care.
Yesterday there was a private ambulance parked outside the property, which left around 6pm. MailOnline has asked Harris’s spokesperson for comment.
Private investigator and author William Merritt told MailOnline that he saw him in late 2022 and that he was seriously ill. He said, “Rolf has been very ill. When I saw him, he could talk to me. He was there, but he was clearly unwell’.
Mr Merritt said Rolf has had neck cancer and there are serious concerns about his health, although he was ‘moving on with things’. Because of the cancer, Rolf would ‘gargle’ while talking and is difficult to understand.
His wife Alwen has also been seriously ill with Alzheimer’s disease. “She’s very vulnerable,” he said.
A private ambulance with the rear doors open at the home of Rolf Harris and his wife Alwen yesterday
The vehicle, used by funeral directors, left around 6 p.m. The Harris family declined to comment
Rolf Harris (pictured during the pandemic) can no longer speak or eat and needs 24-hour care after being diagnosed with neck cancer
Rolf Harris (second from left) and his wife Alwen Hughes (second from right) are recluses and rarely leave their home in Bray, Berkshire
Harris’ daughter Bindi had no comment when she reached out to her home in a Somerset village. Her husband Craig also declined to comment.
A friend of the family told MailOnline: ‘Bidi has had nothing to say about her father in recent years. She gets very stressed when asked about him and prefers not to talk about him.”
It understood that Rolf Harris’s health was deteriorating following the sudden death of his beloved poodle earlier in 2022.
The Harris family’s attorney, Daniel Burke, told MailOnline that he has had no contact with immediate family. He said he had not spoken to Rolf’s only daughter Bindi and had no instructions to prepare or issue a statement about his ill health.
It understood that Rolf Harris’s health was deteriorating following the sudden death of his beloved poodle earlier in 2022.
Harris married his sculptor wife Alwen in March 1958 after meeting at art school. The couple has one daughter Bindi.
Best known for hits Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport and Jake The Peg, as well as a string of children’s TV hits, Harris also famously painted the 80th birthday portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
He was the face of British Paints for over three decades before being dumped by the brand when he was arrested in 2013.
The following year, Harris was found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault and sentenced to five years and nine months in prison.
The attacks include one on an eight-year-old signature hunter, two on girls in their early teens and a catalog of abuse against his daughter’s boyfriend of over 16.
He was paroled in May 2017 after serving three years behind bars.
Of the 12 convictions, one was overturned on appeal in November 2017, and a jury chose not to convict him in two other cases in the same year.
The convicted pedophile, 93, lives a secluded life in the English village of Bray.
Mr Merritt said last year that Rolf now prefers to be alone and is not “especially fond of children” because he “hates noise”.
His wife Alwen, 91, a jeweler and sculptor, is confined to a wheelchair due to Alzheimer’s disease, but the couple, who married in 1958 and have one child, live together with the help of 24-hour care.
Rolf Harris (pictured arriving at Southwark Crown Court with daughter Bindi and niece Jenny in 2014) was found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault
Rolf Harris (pictured appearing in the early 1970s) was a much loved entertainer in Australia and the UK until his arrest in 2013
‘(He’s) battling a cancer of the neck, and gargles when he talks. It’s hard to understand him,’ said Mr. Merritt.
“As soon as one of the two people enters the room, he turns back into a big boy. He’s an artistic type and he’ll try to perform on command, even if he’s not feeling well.’
Harris’s health has deteriorated in recent years and he was hospitalized during his time in prison when his diabetes spiraled out of control.
“He is in poor health and has deteriorated rapidly. He doesn’t get out anymore and when he does it’s only with his caretaker,” a neighbor said in 2019.
Harris has not spoken publicly since his release from prison in 2017, but issued a statement in Mr Merritt’s recently released book Rolf Harris: The Defense Team’s Special Investigator reveals the truth behind the trials.
“I understand that we live in the post-truth era and know that few will want to know what really happened during the three criminal trials I underwent – it’s easier to judge me and compare me to people like Saville and Glitter,” Harris said.
Rolf Harris’ is pictured with a dog at the RSPCA Animal Hospital in Putney, UK
Rolf Harris (pictured five years ago) is battling neck cancer and is now feeding through a feeding tube
“I was convicted of crimes I did not commit in my first trial. That is not just my opinion, but the opinion of the Court of Appeal that overturned one of my convictions. I had already served the prison sentence at the time of the appeal.
“I changed my legal team after the first trial, and I was told if the truth was out there, William (Merritt) would find it and he did.
“The evidence he found proved my innocence before two successive juries.
“I would be in jail serving a sentence for crimes I didn’t commit if it weren’t for William’s investigation.
“The injustice I feel is hard to put into words.”