Absolutely Fabulous star Jane Horrocks has revealed she needed hospital treatment for a broken wrist and bruised ribs after falling off her bicycle.
The Bubble and Katy Grin actress, 59, also took the opportunity to urge her followers about taking extra care when riding in the winter months, along with the dangers of black ice.
Taking to X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday, the Lancashire-born personality penned: “Just fallen off my bike on black ice in Brighton. In A&E now. It’s crazy busy.
Just fallen off my bike on black ice in Brighton. In A+E now. It’s crazy busy. I haven’t experienced A+E for a very long time and it’s an eye opener. Be careful cyclists out there
— Jane Horrocks (@janehorrocks_) December 6, 2023
“I haven’t experienced A&E for a very long time and it’s an eye-opener. Be careful, cyclists out there.”
Black ice is a thin layer of highly transparent ice which makes it blend in with road pavements, making it almost impossible to see. It appears black due to the colour of the road pavement it forms on.
She later thanked two strangers for their help after the accident and expressed her gratitude to the nurse who put her arm in a plaster cast when other medical professionals had gone home.
She penned: “A lovely couple helped me when I fell. They got me a cup of tea and brought me home.
“Thank you to them and the lovely Scottish nurse who put my arm in plaster when all the other ‘plasterers’ had gone home.”
A lovely couple helped me when I fell. They got me a cup of tea and brought me home. Thank you to them and the lovely Scottish nurse who put my arm in plaster when all the other ‘plasterers’ had gone home
— Jane Horrocks (@janehorrocks_) December 6, 2023
After being inundated with well-wishes from fans, Horrocks described waiting in A&E as “tedious” before concluding that perhaps her experience had served a greater purpose: “Maybe these accidents occur to say, ‘Slow down.’ We do so little of that, that sometimes it takes something stronger to enforce rest. I’m grateful for the guidance.”
In one last health update, she confirmed that she had sustained “a broken wrist and bruised ribs” which she said was “not too bad in the grand scheme of things”.
Thank you ALL for your well wishes. I have a broken wrist and bruised ribs, so not too bad in the grand scheme of things. So many people in A+E yesterday had fallen on black ice and there was quite a lot of anger towards @BrightonHoveCC for not gritting the roads.
— Jane Horrocks (@janehorrocks_) December 7, 2023
“So many people in A&E yesterday had fallen on black ice and there was quite a lot of anger towards [Brighton & Hove City Council] for not gritting the roads,” she noted.
Horrocks starred in the Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders BBC sitcom between 1992 and 1996.
She has also appeared on stage in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, a role she reprised in 1998 for a screen adaptation, earning Golden Globe and Bafta nominations.
Elsewhere, Horrocks has featured in Tesco commercials and lent her voice to animated movies including Chicken Run and Corpse Bride.
