Cliff Richard Reflects on Health Struggles During False Allegations: “I Thought I Was Going to Die”
For more than 60 years, Sir Cliff Richard has been a fixture in British music, his career stretching across generations with a remarkable consistency few artists achieve. Today, at 84, he is often celebrated as a symbol of vitality and longevity. But behind that image lies a chapter of his life where both his health and spirit nearly collapsed under the weight of false accusations.
Between 2014 and 2016, Richard endured a two-year police investigation into allegations of historic child sexual abuse — an ordeal that ended with no charges being filed. While the investigation ultimately cleared him, Richard has spoken openly about the toll it took, describing those years as some of the darkest of his life. “Within six months of the allegation I had shingles all over my head and face,” he said. “It looked so horrible I thought, ‘I can’t believe it is happening.’”
Shingles, a painful viral infection caused by the reactivation of dormant chickenpox, is often linked to stress, particularly in older adults. For Richard, the timing left no doubt in his mind about the connection. His doctors, too, warned him that stress was a major factor. “I think it was to do with the stress,” he admitted. “I don’t think I would fall over normally.”
The emotional strain was as severe as the physical. Richard confessed he often feared he was dying, believing at times he was suffering a heart attack or stroke. “I wake up in the mornings now and I feel I am disappearing,” he wrote in his personal diary during the ordeal. “I look in the mirror and this other old geezer looks back at me.”
The investigation began with the public humiliation of a police raid on his Berkshire home in 2014, an event that quickly spiraled into relentless media coverage. Richard said the stress left him unable to perform simple physical tasks; within just 24 hours, he found he could not lift his arm. Later, he collapsed onto stepping stones in his garden, biting through his lower lip. “I thought I would die from it,” he recalled.
Health experts note that stress is one of the most powerful triggers for shingles, as it weakens the immune system and allows dormant viruses to reactivate. The Mayo Clinic explains that once someone has had chickenpox, the virus lies dormant in nerve tissue and can reappear later in life as shingles. The condition is most common among older adults, but prolonged stress, trauma, or certain medications can significantly increase risk.
For Richard, the combination of age and emotional strain created the perfect storm. What had once been a life filled with music, tours, and audiences was overshadowed by fear, shame, and a constant sense of uncertainty about his future. He said he often felt crippled by the thought that he might face trial for something he had not done, or worse, be imprisoned.
Looking back now, Richard acknowledges how close he came to breaking under the weight of the ordeal. But in surviving it, he has also become more open about the connection between mental health and physical wellbeing. His resilience, bolstered by faith and the support of friends and fans, allowed him to rebuild both his health and his public life.
Today, Sir Cliff Richard continues to perform and remains active in music, living proof of a legacy that endures beyond controversy. But his candor about the stress-induced health struggles he faced serves as a stark reminder of how false allegations can devastate not only reputations but also lives and bodies. “Stress,” he once said, “nearly destroyed me.”
In sharing his story, Richard shines a light on a truth often hidden in the glamour of fame: even the strongest voices can falter under pressure. What matters is the strength to sing again.