Julian Clary shares three shocking 'brushes with death' while he was on stage

The comedian and TV star opened up about the close calls he has had during his decades in the entertainment industry

Comedian Julian Clary has revealed how he has almost died three times while on stage. The 65-year-old Celebrity Big Brother star, who is returning for his ninth year in pantomime at the London Palladium, opened up about the 'terrifying' experiences.

Speaking to Metro, Julian said: "I’ve had several brushes with death. On three occasions, a glitterball has crashed to the ground, and the old-fashioned glitterballs are huge and very heavy.

"They were made of metal and hooked up above where you’re performing with a safety chain. But somehow, three times over the decades, something has gone wrong and a scenery change has happened when something has knocked into the glitterball so it’s come loose and crashed to the ground, within inches of me each time, and smashed onto the stage."

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The comedian revealed how one time, when he was performing in Australia, a glitterball had fallen onto a woman who was sitting in the front row. He said it had 'crushed her knee', and 'severely' injured her.

He added: "Each time, I’ve thought… I could’ve died, but I’ve also thought, what a way to go!"

Julian has faced heartache in his personal life over the years. His boyfriend Christopher died of AIDS in 1991.

The star previously admitted he had turned to drugs to deal with crippling anxiety attacks after the death. He had spent months nursing his lover prior to his death.

Speaking Piers Morgan's Life Stories, Julian previously explained: "He was very ill and I was looking after him but he was very cheerful about it – he used to laugh a lot. There was something in his nature to laugh.

"We’d been to a hospital appointment and he asked them how long and they said six months and he just laughed because it seemed so unbelievable. In fact, he lived for nine months, so they were wrong. That was quite important to him.

"No doubt the anxiety attacks that started about two years later were to do with that." He revealed he had used a cocktail of drugs to try to keep himself on track.

He said he was prescribed Valium for during the day and took rohypnol at night. Julian is now married to Ian Mackley.

They started dating in 2005, and were married in 2016.