Watson: 'I Wanted To Die'

The 41-year-old tenor fell ill during a recording session in October (07) and underwent emergency surgery after doctors discovered he had fallen victim to a second tumour - just a year after his first operation to remove a growth from his brain.

And Watson admits that when he was rushed to hospital before the second operation, he wanted to die to ease his pain.

He says, "All I wanted to do was drift off to sleep. I was convinced my time had come and I was going to die. I was so close to death I just thought, 'Come on. Bring it on. I've had enough.'

"I didn't want to go through all that s** again. I'd had enough. Lights out. Game over."

But it was the thought of his young daughters that persuaded Watson not to give up.

He adds, "I started thinking about my kids, I thought, 'What are they going to do without their dad?' I suddenly thought, 'No! F**k this! I'm not ready to die. I will fight this!'"

Watson made a good recovery after the surgery and has now finished a course of chemotherapy. He has two daughters Rebecca, 13, and Hannah, seven, from his marriage to Helen Watson which ended in 2001.