Overview

• In a joint interview first reported by The Times, Merton says he wasn’t seeking a relationship but found feelings for Webster emerging about six to seven months after his wife’s death.
• The pair describe first connecting on a Comedy Store Players tour in India while unwell, drinking brandy and cola in a dim hotel bar as a magician performed.
• Merton’s second wife, Sarah Parkinson, died of aggressive breast cancer in September 2003 at age 41, three months after their wedding.
• He has said comedy provided solace after her death, recalling he went to The Comedy Store six days later and returned to the stage roughly a week after that.
• Their bond evolved into a marriage of more than a decade with frequent joint performances, as Merton reflects on a career that includes Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Have I Got News For You and an earlier six-week stay at the Maudsley psychiatric hospital.