George Michael - George Michael Suffered Severe Anxiety After Whitney Houston's Death

The former Wham! frontman admits he "dodged a bullet" after being hospitalised with potentially deadly lung condition pneumonia in Vienna, Austria in November (11), where he spent several weeks under doctors' care before he was allowed to return to his native U.K.

Michael was still recovering from his ordeal when Houston was found dead at the Beverly Hilton Hotel after accidentally drowning in the bath, and admits the images of her body being carried on a stretcher left him shaken.

The singer, who duetted with Houston on 2000 single If I Told You That, tells Britain's Daily Star, "When something like that happens in such a random fashion, it takes a while to feel life is safe again.

"I've lived with a lot of anxiety since. I was watching footage of Whitney Houston being wheeled into an ambulance. I shouted 'Change the channel'.

"It would have been freaky if Whitney and I had died within six weeks of each other considering we both became big at the same time - and we worked together."