Rik collapses on stage

Rik Mayall collapsed on stage on Tuesday night during a performance of his West End show The New Statesman.

The show was cut short five minutes from the end after the 48-year-old comic Doubled Up and slumped to the floor.

The incident comes after Mayall missed two performances last night because of laryngitis.

One fan at the show told the Daily Mirror: ‘He had looked ill and kept forgetting his lines. He even apologised for it at one point, blaming it on a dental appointment earlier in the day. He was deathly pale and sweating a lot.

‘Then, all of a sudden, he said, “Oh my God” and doubled over in pain.

‘At first we were worried he was having a heart attack. He hobbled back on for a curtain call but it was obvious he was in pain.’

The New Statesman, in which Mayall reprises his role as ruthless MP Alan B'Stard - is due to run at London's Trafalgar studios until the end of the month.

A spokesman told Chortle:'Rik is suffering from general fatigue due to the fact he had laryngitis last week, which meant that he missed two performances.

' He went off last night five minutes before the end,but was back on for the curtain call.

'He'll be back as soon ashe is feeling better.'

Mayall narrowly escaped death in 1998 when he was involved in a quad bike crash on his Devon farm and spent four days in a coma.

Published: 17 Jan 2007