Veteran television journalist Ray Martin reveals major health scare: 'I can't afford to die now'

Ray Martin has revealed he almost died while shooting an SBS documentary series on death in November last year.

The veteran journalist was filming the final scene for the three-part series, called Ray Martin: The Last Goodbye, when he felt 'really crook'.

The 79-year-old told The Daily Telegraph, he's 'never sick' so his daughter Jenna took him to the emergency department.

He was diagnosed with a blood clot on the heart caused by a severe chest infection.

'It's the only time in my life, because I was so drugged, that I thought, "This could be the end",' he admitted.

'I'm 79, I've never been in hospital in my life and I was thinking, "I can't afford to die now".'

Ray was monitored by heart and lung specialists and doctors have since given him a clean bill of health.

Last year, the veteran reporter insisted that he still has a lot of life left in him, as he grows older gracefully.

'I'm never going to retire. David Attenborough is in his 90s and he's my role model. He says you've got to keep doing what you love,' he told Woman's Day magazine.

He added the workaholic lifestyle he once had prevented him from enjoying the important things in life and he was never going to repeat that mistake.

'I lived in New York for 10 years as the ABC correspondent and I worked eight days a week. Yet I think of all the things I didn't do and should have done. 

'You've got forever to sleep, you've got to have a go.'

The esteemed A Current Affair host added that as he gets older, he's more committed than ever to spending time with his children Jenna and Luke and two grandchildren.