Stephen Fry says he’s ‘fortunate’ to walk again after horror six-foot fall

Stephen Fry has said he feels very lucky to be walking again after suffering a horror fall in September.

The 66-year-old actor and comedian fell off a stage after delivering a talk about artificial intelligence at London’s O2 Arena and was subsequently taken to hospital.

Appearing on Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain, Fry recalled the terrifying incident to hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls: “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 six-foot drop onto concrete. It was grim.”

Fry shared that doctors said he was “very fortunate” to be able to walk again after breaking his leg in two places, pelvis in four and several ribs.

He continued: “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 presenter said his recovery in part has been down to doing “lots of hydrotherapy and physiotherapy”, before adding: “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 explained that while painkillers accelerated the recovery, he was conscious to not get addicted to the opioids he was prescribed.

The TV star continued: “[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.”

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV and ITVX