Ian McKellen provides health update following West End fall

Ian McKellen has provided a health update following his injury during the West End production of Player Kings, earlier this summer.

According to spectators, McKellen, 85, fell off the front of the stage after losing his footing during the first act of the show, crying out in pain and halting the performance. Audience members were then evacuated with front-of-house staff tending to the actor as the house lights came up. McKellen was then taken to hospital for treatment to his wrist. David Semark played the role of John Falstaff for the remainder of the West End season and tour dates.

Now, in a new interview with Saga, McKellen revealed that his: “chipped vertebrae and fractured wrist are not yet mended.” The incident has caused a personal struggle for McKellen, who has been prolific with his unceasing appearances on stage: “I have to keep assuring myself that I’m not too old to act and it was just a bloody accident.”

The Lord of the Rings and X-Men star, who has recently graced the stage in Frank and Percy, Hamlet and The Cherry Orchard, is said to still be in a neck brace with a splinted right hand. He added: “I don’t go out because I get nervous in case someone bangs into me, and I’ve got agonising pains in my shoulders to do with my whole frame having been jolted.”

He also states that the padded suit that he wore during the show saved his ribs and other joints. One thing he misses most, McKellen has revealed, is visiting his local pub, The Grapes, for a Monday night pub quiz.

That doesn’t mean McKellen will be away from screens: his new film The Critic (where he plays a theatre critic) comes out next month, while a filmed version of his Hamlet performance is currently in cinemas.