13 Actors Who Almost Died Filming Major TV Shows

6. Friday Night Dinner - Simon Bird

In an interview with Digital Spy, British sitcom star Bird - best known for being socially awkward and sexually embarrassing - confirmed that he thought he was dying during filming of his other comedic success Friday Night Dinner.

In a bid to make a violent scene between himself and co-star Tom Rosenthal look as convincing as possible - something they always sought - things got out of hand, and Bird found himself being choked:

"We did hurt each other quite regularly. When I hurt Tom, he would get me back on the next take. It did escalate. Tom got really into the bit when he is strangling me. There was definitely a moment I thought, 'This is the end', I could see the light at the end of the tunnel."

While it could be put down to simple over-zealous method acting, but it could have been Rosenthal exacting revenge after another sequence led to Bird jumping on his knee and snapping his ligaments.