Footballer who comforted Glenn Hoddle during heart attack to run London Marathon

Former Brighton midfielder Steve Sidwell will run the London Marathon in aid of the British Heart Foundation – seven years after he comforted Glenn Hoddle during a heart attack at the BT Sport studios.

Sidwell was the first to see Hoddle during his cardiac arrest while appearing on Saturday Morning Savage in October 2018, during which he comforted the former England manager and told him to “hang in there”.

This weekend, Sidwell will run the London Marathon in support of the British Heart Foundation, as well as the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Hoddle was given CPR by BT Sport engineer Simon Daniels before being taken to hospital. A source close to the family said at the time that Hoddle had been “close to death” before Mr Daniels’ actions.

About witnessing Hoddle’s heart attack, Sidwell said: “That was one of the most surreal days of my life. We turned up to the studio on a Saturday morning like every other Saturday, everyone was in good spirits.

“The show was live. It went to the ad break and it was like 10 seconds after that. It easily could have happened live on TV.

“I was standing next to the table and Glenn passed the ball. He’d done this kick, and I was like, what was that? He sort of stumbled back and his head smacked the ground and that was it. I was the first one to him.

“A lot of us were footballers that he’d actually managed. You never leave that team spirit, that camaraderie.

“That’s the closest I’ve been to a real, traumatic disaster. It changed my outlook, for sure, on life.

“After that happens, you have a real reset on life, especially when you have a kid yourself. You can’t take things for granted in this life. In a split moment, anything could happen.”

Sidwell, 42, did a CPR course after witnessing Hoddle’s heart attack.

He said: “Simon saved his life. It’s so important people know some form of first aid. If we didn’t have that, he wouldn’t be here.

“It quickly escalated to something that was really, really serious. We were really lucky we had Simon, the engineer, who knew CPR.

“You can hear the crack of the rib during CPR. The hardest part is the defibrillator, you can’t do anything, you’ve just got to wait.”

Sidwell also chose to support the British Heart Foundation after his son Lenny was diagnosed with a rare congenital heart condition at the age of three, which causes problems with heart blood flow.

The condition, cor triatriatum left atrial membrane blockage, was discovered when Lenny, who is now 15, complained of his heart “beeping” when he was running around.

He is said to be doing well but will need surgery within the next few years.

About running the marathon, Sidwell said: “I’ve never run a marathon but always wanted to.

“Recently I’ve had a couple of spinal surgeries which meant running was off the table, so I’m excited to be taking on this challenge. I only started running properly this year.”

Sidwell’s father also suffered a heart attack in 2018 after playing golf on a course near his son’s house.

Sidwell was on a pre-season tour in Barcelona when he heard about his father’s health.

He said: “I got the call and ended up not playing the match, and getting the first flight back so that I could be with my parents.”

Sidwell’s father is now “doing really well, back playing golf and feeling healthy”, he said.

His family, including his father and his son, will be there to support him on the day of the run.