Gavin and Stacey star Mathew Horne reportedly sustained a head injury during a performance of The Tempest in the West End.
The 46-year-old actor, who is currently playing Prospero at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, was injured about ten minutes into Tuesday evening's performance.
According to The Sun, Horne was rolling on the floor as part of the scene when he struck his head on a rock.
The show was paused for 15 minutes, and when it resumed, Horne was seen with a visible mark on his face and appeared to be in pain, with his forehead looking sore.
An audience member told the outlet: “Mathew’s forehead had a big, red mark on it and it looked pretty painful, even from far away in the theatre.”
Praising the TV star, they added: “He was a real trooper to finish the show because it can’t have been comfortable.”
Despite the injury, Horne attended an early screening of the final Gavin and Stacey episode the following day.
The Standard has contacted Matthew Horner’s rep for comment.
The Gavin and Stacey Christmas special, written by creators James Corden and Ruth Jones, who also star as Smithy and Nessa, is set to be the most-watched show of the day.
The 2019 Christmas episode achieved the highest overnight ratings in 12 years, drawing an average audience of 11.6 million viewers, making it the biggest festive special since Christmas Day 2008.
The one-off festive special set five years after the 2019 Christmas Day episode that ended on a cliffhanger when Nessa proposed to Corden’s character Smithy. Answers may also finally be provided about what happened on Uncle Bryn and Jason’s fishing trip.
Rumours of a rift between Corden and Horne emerged after their joint career projects struggled in 2009, and were amplified when the former chat show host spoke about their relationship, admitting they had grown apart in previous years.
However, Horne put the speculation to rest by expressing his protectiveness toward Corden while promoting the upcoming special.
Speaking to The Times, he shared: “The root of all of the flak that he takes – and it’s beyond flak – is jealousy.
“He is a phenomenally gifted actor and writer, and a brilliant working-class success story. So yeah, I am protective of him. But I think I’ve been silenced in discussing him because of this narrative that’s been imposed.”
