Doctors star Diane Keen celebrates her 80th birthday next month, nine days after the third anniversary of a stroke so catastrophic doctors said only 2% of people usually survived. Hailed a ‘miracle’ by medics for cheating death, she’s now writing her autobiography, producing a feature film and making a documentary about surviving strokes.Of her remarkable recovery, the three times married star - who had a daughter, Melissa Greenwood, with second husband, actor Paul Greenwood - says: “I never ever thought I would die. I never questioned it. Even when my daughter was told that I probably would die, I just kept thinking ahead to when I'd be fully recovered and would pick up my life from where I left off.“I never strayed from that thought. I didn't even consider being wheelchair-bound. It wasn't going to happen. It's so important to have a positive attitude and be determined to do all you can to recover. I saw people a lot younger than me on those wards give up. I'm not religious, but I have faith in the way the universe works."‌Celebrating her birthday on July 29, Diane, who lives near Botley, Hampshire, also starred in TV hits The Cuckoo Waltz, Rings on Their Fingers, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries and The Sweeney film, as well as fronting a long-running ad campaign for Nescafe. But she’s best known for playing Julia Parsons, from 2003 to 2012, in the soap opera Doctors - although this didn’t help in her hour of need. She says: “I didn't play a doctor - Julia was the practice manager.”On the day of her stroke - July 20 2023 - Diane was staying at the house of her daughter, Melissa, an actress and theatrical agent. She says: "I was looking after Melissa's pets while she was on holiday.Still in my pyjamas, shortly after 8am, as I opened the doors to the conservatory, I experienced an enormous loud explosion in my head."Then things started spinning and I felt dizzy. I stood there, holding on to a door. thinking, 'that was weird. I wonder what it was?' Then it dawned on me and I said out loud 'Oh my god, I've had a stroke!' “‌Her mobile was upstairs, but after crossing one room downstairs, she says: “My body became paralysed and I hit the deck with a thump. With only two fingers and two toes properly functioning, I very slowly got to the bottom of the stairs, but couldn't move any further. I couldn't speak and could hardly see."All I could do was wait until Melissa returned the next day. I then spent 30 hours lying on her living-room floor. I wasn't in physical pain, presumably due to the paralysis. I eventually woke to Melissa going 'oh my god, Mum!'"Within 30 minutes, an ambulance arrived and took Diane to the nearest hospital, in Portsmouth. She recalls: "I had a clot at the base of my skull and another at the top of my head - they happened together. The consultant on duty took Melissa to one side and bluntly told her 'there's massive brain damage, so get your family here as quick as possible because she probably doesn't have long'. “‌Taken to intensive care, she was introduced to the man who would be her doctor. She says: "A lovely matron assigned a stroke consultant to me, Dr Khan, who was excellent. He took my hands in his and said 'I won't lie, you've had one of the most serious strokes, and if you have another in the next two weeks that will kill you.“‘But we're going to do everything possible to get you through this. You're a fighter and so am I. I promise you you're going to walk out of hospital, and with luck, the clots will dissolve in time.' Within 20 minutes, I had every piece of medical equipment known to man....I resembled a Cyborg, but I just knew I was safe.”Diane’s paralysis lifted and she says: “Two weeks to the day of my stroke, I was able to stand. Learning to walk again as an adult is scary - I found that the hardest part. But. after three weeks, Dr Khan said 'I am satisfied you are medically sound', and a nurse told me 'you're a miracle!'”‌Transferred to a hospital closer to home in Southampton, Diane, who was in hospital for two months - with Melissa by her side every day - recalls seeing her face for the first time. She says: "The right side of my face had dropped. I didn't see myself for three weeks and was shocked."When she went home, at first Diane received daily care, but after just six weeks decided she could cope alone. And with regular check-ups she started to recover. She says: "You recover quicker once you get home, because you have to. But there is no quick fix for a stroke. Dr Khan told me it would probably be a three-year recovery. My speech was bad, and my sight wasn't good, as one eye didn't work. I had a patch over it for 17 months until a successful operation. Now that's much improved and my face is how it should be.”Diane still experiences dizziness, which can’t be cured and she gets pins & needles on her right side, which sometimes move to her back and neck. She says: “I go to the gym five days a week and that controls it a bit. Sometimes I get respiratory and memory problems - I forgot Andrew Lloyd Webber's name when I was interviewed on stage last year."‌She continues: “I'll probably be on medication [Ramipril, for blood pressure, and Clopidogrel, to prevent blood clots] for the rest of my life, but I remind myself that I'm alive. My consultant in Southampton said 'we can't do anything about the dizziness, that's your brain, you have to live with it'."He also explained 'with the type of stroke you had, there's only a 2% chance of survival. People who do survive are usually in a wheelchair and in a home or institution. Their face and sight don't recover, and they need constant care. Then there's you, and we don't know how you've come out of this the way you have.'"Driving again since July 2024, Diane is also working on several projects. She laughs: "I think a good title for my autobiography would be 'I'm still here!'“ Of her documentary on stroke survival, she adds: “I want people to know you don't get any warning with a stroke. One minute you're alright, the next you're not.”‌Encouraging those recovering to “take baby steps every day,” she adds: “If I can help even one person and show what they can do, that'll be worth it."To celebrate her 80th, she hopes to visit some of the places on her bucket list in the ensuing year, such as Egypt, Antarctica, New Zealand, and East Africa, where she grew up, because her father was an engineer there. And to mark three years since her stroke, she wants to see Dr Khan.She says: "When I was leaving hospital in Portsmouth, Dr Khan said to me 'At the end of your recovery, come back to me and we'll have a good chat over a cup of tea'. That's what I'm going to do. I can't wait. Dr Khan saved my life. I will be living to a very old age. I will drive everybody mad. They'll go 'that bloody woman is 103, when is she going to stop?!'‌