Stephen Fry has told of his recovery after a horror fall that saw him break his leg, pelvis and several ribs.
The actor and comedian yesterday admitted he is “very lucky” to be able to walk again after falling 6ft from a stage.
Stephen, 66, is still undergoing treatment for his injuries with hydrotherapy and physiotherapy, and credits strong painkillers for getting him back on his feet earlier than doctors expected.
He told Good Morning Britain: “I’m feeling whole and healed thanks to good physiotherapy.”
“It was pretty nasty. I broke my leg in two places, my pelvis in four places and a bunch of ribs, so it was really quite serious.”
The star said he took a course of the controversial painkiller OxyContin, but stressed that it had been carefully prescribed.
Stephen added: “They [painkillers] mean the physio can get you on your feet earlier.”
“Even though it was the dreaded OxyContin, which has cut a swathe through America in the opioid crisis, it was being dealt to me very properly and I was weaned off it so I didn’t get addicted.”
“Because of the painkillers I was able to move earlier than I would otherwise have been able to.”
He said he is now doing “lots of hydrotherapy and physiotherapy”.
Recalling the fall, which happened as he was delivering a talk about artificial intelligence at London’s O2 Arena in September, he said: “I was giving this lecture.”
“When I finished I took my bow and walked off stage, not knowing that the bulk of the stage I was walking on had a 6ft drop on to concrete. It was grim.”
Doctors said he was lucky to walk again. Stephen said: “The orthopaedic surgeon made it clear that he was dealing with people who had a fall from lesser heights, who might not walk again. The two things that you don’t want to hit are your skull or your spine. And I was very fortunate that I didn’t, so there was no suggestion of either cognitive impairment.”
The Blackadder star also told of raising awareness about prostate cancer after being diagnosed in 2018.
He spearheaded a campaign with BBC presenter Bill Turnbull, who died last year at 66. Stephen said: “I’m very lucky. I prefer to think I am overcoming it.”
He is returning to quiz master duties eight years after quitting the BBC’s QI as the host of new ITV game show Jeopardy! which launches on January 1.
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