Yahoo News Stephen Fry details recovery after 'really serious' fall off stage
The QI host revealed he is now able to hop on one leg again after breaking his leg, pelvis and ribs.
Watch: Stephen Fry talks about his recovery after falling off stage
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Stephen Fry has revealed he is able to hop on one foot again after breaking his leg, pelvis and ribs in a "grim" and "nasty" fall. The 66-year-old actor, writer, comedian and presenter said is feeling 90% recovered after he was seriously injured falling off stage at at London’s O2 Arena in September. The QI host appeared on Good Morning Britain where he gave a positive update on his recovery.
What, how, and why?
Fry has been left with multiple broken bones and unable to walk after falling six feet onto concrete after his speech at the AI and Tech festival CogX in London just 12 weeks previously.
Asked by host Ed Balls if he felt 90% recoveredm Fry said: "Oh I reckon yes, absolutely. My physio says if I can hop on each foot then she will no long come and see me. Not yet, I can hop on one, but not on the other." He added: “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.”
Fry - who is due to host a new reboot of US gameshow Jeopardy on ITV launching on New Year's Day - said he felt lucky to be able to walk again. He explained. “The orthopaedic surgeon made it clear that he was dealing with people who had 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 Morning Show star – who has previously spoken of his addiction battles with drugs and alcohol – revealed he took the highly-addictive painkiller OxyContin in order to speed up his recovery, but he had to be carefully weaned off them.
Fry explained: “They [the 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.”
What else happened on Good Morning Britain?
Fry also spoke about using his celebrity status to help raise awareness for prostate cancer, alongside the late broadcaster Bill Turnbull, who died last year aged 66.
Susanna Reid was a close friend of Turnbull after working with him on BBC Breakfast and GMB. Fry said: “Bill unfortunately was not diagnosed in time and that was an awful warning. He was amazingly robust right to the end in terms of his mind and attitude to his all.”
Fry then said to Balls: “I hope you get tested every year because you are of that age, Ed.”
Good Morning Britain airs on ITV from 6am to 9am from Monday to Friday.
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Watch: Stephen Fry broke leg, hip and ribs in stage fall
