Gavin & Stacey star suffers head injury on stage in London’s West End days before Christmas special
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AS Gavin Shipman in the hit sitcom Gavin & Stacey, Mathew Horne is used to having a stick of rock from Barry Island. But the actor had a run-in with a different kind of rock when he whacked his head on one during a West End show and was swiftly taken off stage.
![[Mathew Horne whacked his head on a rock during a West End show and was swiftly taken off stage]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/finale-ham-yard-hotel-london-958315047_6399d7.jpg?strip=all&w=653)
He is currently starring in a production of The Tempest at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London but was just ten minutes into the performance when disaster struck on Tuesday night. The show was halted after he hit his forehead on a rock on the stage during part of the play where he rolled on the floor.
![[The special will be the final episode of the show, which first started in 2007]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/picture-used-accompany-pa-feature-957811530_0f1508.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
He was off stage for 15 minutes but then bravely continued, despite a visible mark on his face. One audience member told me: “Mathew’s forehead had a big, red mark on it and it looked pretty painful, even from far away in the theatre. “He was clearly in pain so they stopped the show as a precautionary measure to give him a once-over.
![[The Gavin & Stacey Christmas Day special will air on BBC One]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/toffee-international-ltd-tom-jackson-956187711_8c496a.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
“It was about 15 minutes before the cast eventually returned to the stage, including Mathew, but his forehead looked sore. "He was a real trooper to finish the show because it can’t have been comfortable.”. Representatives for Mathew and the theatre production did not respond when approached for comment about the incident.
Thankfully, he was back out yesterday, when he attended a photocall for the Gavin & Stacey Christmas Day special, which will air on BBC One, although he was one of the only cast members to leave early before a Q&A with Press. It will be the final episode of the much-loved show, which first started in 2007, as creator and Smithy actor James Corden said: “It can’t carry on. When you see it, you’ll know.”.
