Stephen Fry recalls 6ft fall from O2 stage in first live interview since ‘nasty’ accident

Stephen Fry recalls 6ft fall from O2 stage in first live interview since 'nasty' accidentGMB/ITV

Transcript

00:00 I was feeling whole and healed thanks to good physiotherapy.

00:02 Blimey! Yeah, it was pretty nasty.

00:04 I broke my leg in two places, my pelvis in four places,

00:08 and a bunch of ribs, so it was really quite serious.

00:11 And, er...

00:13 Actually, painkillers helped. Yes.

00:15 I know that sounds silly.

00:17 I mean, obviously, they reduce the pain,

00:19 but they mean the physio can get on your feet earlier.

00:21 And even though it was the dreaded OxyContin,

00:24 which has cut a swathe through America in the opioid crisis,

00:28 obviously it was being dealt to me very properly

00:30 and weaned off it so I didn't get addicted.

00:33 But because of the painkillers,

00:34 I was able to move earlier than I otherwise would have been.

00:37 And since then, just lots of hydrotherapy and physiotherapy.

00:40 Just remind viewers what happened.

00:42 You were hosting a conference on AI technology

00:47 and something as physical and down-to-earth and practical

00:50 is a massive drop from the stage.

00:53 Yes, it's a reminder that the real physical world,

00:55 with its atoms and molecules, is always going to defeat you

00:58 further than the electronic world of AI that we got so obsessed with.

01:03 Yes, it was at the O2 Arena, the Millennium Dome, as it was.

01:07 And, yeah, I was giving this lecture and when I finished it,

01:10 I took my bow, walked off stage,

01:13 not knowing that the part of the stage I was walking off

01:15 had a six-foot drop onto concrete.

01:17 Oh! I know, it was grim.