Fans of astronaut Tim Peake shared their disappointment and concern at the sudden cancellation of his show in Darlington on Friday night after he took ill.
The popular astronaut - the first Brit to carry out a spacewalk at the International Space Station - had been set to talk about his life and work during a tour stop-off with his show My Journey To Space. But soon before he was due to take to the stage at Darlington Hippodrome, the show was abruptlcancelled.
Among the responses to the news on the theatre's Facebook page was one which said: "What’s frustrating is that we were only told of the cancellation four-and-a-half hours before the performance was due to start. I live four hours away so a bit more notice could have avoided an eight hour wasted journey."
Read more: Tim Peake shares image of Newcastle from space
But the Hippodrome responded that "there was no more notice we could have given", adding "as soon as we received the information we've been contacting customers". And, with the theatre having also alerted ticket-holders by phone, many of them appeared to be understanding of the situation, sharing concerns for Peake.
One wrote: "I appreciated the phone call, I hadn’t seen the email and this was a great effort to contact everyone in short notice. These things happen, wishing Tim Peake a quick recovery and look forward to seeing him soon."
In a tweet on Friday evening from Peake's Twitter account, the reason for calling off the show was given as sudden illness. It said: "I'm posting this on behalf of Tim who has taken suddenly unwell.
"He is sorry to have to postpone tonight's show @DarlingtonHipp and apologises wholeheartedly for any disappointment and inconvenience caused". It was accompanied by a statement from event company Fane Productions which read: "We are very sorry to inform you that Tim Peake has been taken ill.
"As a result, the performance of Tim Peake: My Journey To Space on Friday at the Darlington Hippodrome will not be going ahead. We apologise for the late notice and any inconvenience this may cause. We will be postponing the show until a later date."
It asked ticket-holders to keep hold of their tickets and not to contact the theatre box office, as a new date for the show will follow as soon as possible. Fans responded with comments including lots of get well soon wishes such as "Hope you get better soon; it's a show that will be worth the wait!"; "God speed for a swift recovery Tim" and "Get well soon, our 'spaceman'". Others shared concerns, remarking: "Is he ok?" and "Oh gosh I hope he is okay!"
The astronaut had been on stage just the previous night in Stoke-on-Trent and there were many comments praising that evening's show. One said: "Hang on to your tickets Darlington, you’re in for a brilliant ride with Tim when he recovers. Last night in Stoke was a real pleasure and inspiration."
On its Facebook page, Darlington Hippodrome shared the news "with great regret", adding: "Tim has come down with an illness and sends his sincerest apologies about not being able to go ahead with this evening's show." It said it had temporarily suspended its phone lines while box office staff worked hard to contact all affected customers, with details about transferring tickets to a recheduled date, or refunds, to follow.
Among the responses was one which included a photograph of a child's drawing of a rocket, saying a "very disappointed" seven-year-old had just made it for Tim. It added: "Health must come first though and we hope he is better soon. We look forward to a new date being announced."
The theatre marketing officer responded: "That's lovely. Keep hold of that and we'll make sure Tim gets it next time!" The current tour of Peake's show is an extension due to its popularity, with fans of the astronaut proving keen to hear first-hand about his experience in space and his time on board the International Space Station where he even ran a marathon in his spare time.
The show includes photographs and never-before-seen footage and Peake covers the likes of astronaut-training; spacecraft launch; the spacewalk and re-entry. He says of his experience: "It's impossible to look down on Earth from space and not be mesmerised by the fragile beauty of our planet".
In 2017 the Soyuz module which brought him back down to Earth went on show at Locomotion in County Durham. While Peake set records in space, the first British astronaut was actually Helen Sharman who was also the first woman to visit the Mir space station.
Sharman visited Newcastle at the start of 2020 and her spacesuit can be seen at Great North Museum: Hancock.
Read Next
