Bradley Walsh: How breaking my back made me confront my own mortality
The TV star broke three bones in his spine while riding a bull at a US rodeo.
Bradley Walsh has said breaking part of his spine while filming his TV series in the US forced him to confront his own mortality.
The 60-year-old comedian and presenter broke three bones in his back after being thrown from a bull at a rodeo in Ohio.
He suffered the injury while filming for the programme Bradley Walsh & Son: Breaking Dad with his 23-year-old son, Barney.
Walsh said the incident made him realise that life is “precious”.
Appearing on The Jonathan Ross Show, he said: “(Last series) we went to the rodeo and ended up on a bull. Came off and I hit the floor like a sack of potatoes and broke my back in three places.
“Two days after – I promised his mum I’d look after him on the tour – I’m trying to climb an ice mountain.”
Addressing 60-year-old Ross, he said: “When you get to our age, JR, all of a sudden the thoughts of your mortality really come home and I now realise that this time last year I might have come out of hospital not being able to walk.
“So, consequently, you’ve got to be … life’s precious, Barney, isn’t it?”
He added of his son: “Barney is the man now, at 23, that I always wanted to be. And that’s absolutely true.
“He’s got no fear, he’s young, he’s finding his first feet in business and stuff. I just always wanted to do that.”
He added: “Anything Barney wants to do on the show, I’ll give it a go.”
– The Jonathan Ross Christmas Show airs on Thursday December 24 at 10pm on ITV.
