Stephen Grant hurt in bike crash

Comedian Stephen Grant has broken his collarbone in two places after a nasty bicycle crash on Sunday.

The stand-up was cycling over the South Downs when he hit a patch of gravel as he rounded a bend, and as he slid out of control was thrown over the bike.

He quickly realised something was wrong when he had no range of movement in one arm, and a passing cyclist and motorist told him he would need an ambulance.

Writing on his blog, Grant – who gigs around the country as well as being the regular compere at Krater Comedy Club in Brighton – wrote: 'Apparently I was babbling some rubbish. Not hugely dissimilar to my act, I imagine.'

The air ambulance was called out to attend to him, and medics checked for nerve damage and diagnosed a broken collarbone. But, Grant added, 'it wasn't bad enough to get a helicopter ride – dammit'.

He was taken by conventional ambulance to Worthing Hospital, where an X-ray showed he had broken the collarbone in two places, one minor break, and one major one, 'where the bone was now protruding and overlapping'.

Grant is now waiting for an operation, which won't take place until he has had an orthopaedic appointment, which will take more than two weeks.

Writing yesterday, the comic said: "It's 24 hours since the crash and I'm sore, and in pain, but OK. I've been in a sling for the whole time and I'm slowly learning what can and can't be done with a single hand. Typing is tough, as is most food preparation, and a solo shower is near impossible. A huge bruise has appeared where the collar bone is sticking up.

'Curious to know if I can gig like this. I'd better write some jokes because going on stage in a sling without gags about it will look incredibly amateur.'

Published: 11 Jul 2017