Ex-Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr has insisted that his former bandmate George Harrison is fine.

Ananova reports that Ringo told America's Access Hollywood television programme that he had seen George three weeks ago and he was "fine".

He said, "If he had been bad he would have told me. I didn't panic because I will wait until it becomes a reality. The news is real when either George tells me or Paul tells me. We do that to each other. We say, 'Watch out, something's happened and they will be calling you'. The thing is people still think we're one body with three heads."

On Monday (23 July) it was reported that George Harrison was close to death. Later that day George released a statement saying that he was "active and feeling very well".