Television chef Keith Floyd is seriously ill in hospital after collapsing at a pub, a friend has said. The flamboyant celebrity collapsed while staying at Chesters pub in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, which is run by his friend Glenn Geldard. He was immediately taken to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, where he remains. Mr Geldard said he had been to visit him at the hospital on Friday morning. He said: "He is not doing very well. I've just been down to the hospital now. He was at the pub when he collapsed. I was not there - I have a number of other businesses." A spokeswoman for the hospital said she was unable to comment or 'give information out about patients'. Newspaper reports suggested that Keith collapsed after spending a week drinking whisky following the breakdown of his marriage. His manager Stan Green told the Daily Mail that the collapse was not alcohol-related - but was a result of exhaustion brought on by six weeks work at his restaurant in Thailand. He said: "Everyone knows Keith likes a drink - his favourite tipple is Scotch. But it has never been a problem for him and I doubt whether it is a factor in his collapse." Keith is believed to have been staying at the pub to help Mr Geldard launch a newly-refurbished bar.
