Bert Newton feels "great" after health scare

Bert Newton has been discharged from hospital.

The Australian television personality, who is married to Patti, has been receiving treatment in the intensive care unit at Melbourne's Epworth Hospital for the past week after contracting "serious" viral pneumonia.

Newton told the Herald Sun: "I feel great, it's nice to be back under normal circumstances. It came as a bit of a shock, but so long as I do my best, the doctors tell me do exactly what they say, and I'll be back on stage [in musical Wicked] very very soon."

The 72-year-old revealed that despite the health "wake up call", he will not be considering retirement any time soon, saying: "Its the old story. What I do I don't see as a job, I see it as something I love doing and it's a very important part of my life."

While Bert and Patti's daughter Lauren was a regular visitor during his stint in hospital, their Underbelly actor son Matthew was noticeably absent. Similarly, when Matthew was hospitalised in March with severe stomach pains, Bert did not visit him, igniting rumours of a rift between the two.

Matthew, who has spent months receiving treatment in a Sydney psychiatric unit after allegedly attacking ex-girlfriend Rachael Taylor last year, is believed to be angry with his father for talking to the media about his psychological problems.

After his son first went into rehab, Bert said: "We are with him and we hope for the best, and I have got a feeling that is going to be what happens. He is our son, we love him."

He later described his son as a "train wreck", adding: "I do love him and I do support him, but I don't support or condone any of the things that have happened. We should have seen the signs... but we didn't."