Tony Blackburn developed sepsis after battling pneumonia.
The BBC Radio 2 presenter, 80, was sent to hospital with pneumonia earlier this year after initially saying he had a chest ailment.
As he battled the potentially fatal ailment, he was forced to cancel his Sound of the 60s Tour and Radio 2 show.
It has now been discovered that the radio personality acquired sepsis while fighting the condition, spending two months in the hospital in total.
Sepsis is a dangerous, life-threatening consequence of an existing infection with symptoms comparable to pneumonia, such as trouble breathing.
It might also cause slurred speech and disorientation.
He said he didn’t realise how serious his position was until his family gathered at his hospital bedside.
Tony told BBC Scotland: ‘ I ended up in hospital for two months with sepsis and pneumonia and blood poisoning.
‘And I didn’t realise how unwell I was until one day in the hospital my whole family were gathered around the bed. And I thought “this isn’t good”.’
Tony has happily recovered from his ordeals and confesses that he may have overworked himself with his tour, music, and chat show.
He has since resumed his tour but is only doing one concert per week, and he is back on BBC Radio 2 after Johnnie Walker temporarily stood in for him.
Tony was released from the hospital in May, but he was told at the time that he would need more treatment, including regular injections.
He thanked the medical team for their care and stated that he ‘looked forward to going back’ to his radio show and ‘doing what I love doing.’
Tony, who said the opening words of Radio 1 when it debuted in 1967, has been on a variety of stations during his career, including the well-known pirate station Radio Caroline and Smooth Radio.
In November 2010, he took over as host of Radio 2’s Pick Of The Pops, succeeding its two previous long-serving hosts, Alan Freeman and Dale Winton.