BY: James Clark
RIK MAYALL emerged from his weeklong coma yesterday and immediately cracked a joke.
The comedy actor, unconscious in hospital since an accident at his country estate, opened his eyes and asked: 'Why are these b****** sticking needles into me?' His wife Barbara, who was at the 39-year-old's bedside, said last night: 'It means we know he is on the mend.' Mayall, famous for his roles in the Comic Strip films, The Young Ones and The New Statesman, was badly hurt after falling from a quad bike, a four-wheeled motorcycle, at his south Devon home.
It is thought the bike toppled on top of him as he rode across a steeply sloping field.
He was flown unconscious to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth by police helicopter. He was in intensive care in the neurological wing, but was taken off breathing support equipment on Tuesday.
His wife said last night: 'Rik is now awake and walking about, and his memory is returning, though still a bit patchy, but I feel like we have him back. I want to let all the people who care so much about my husband know that he is doing really well, and that all the flowers, faxes and letters have been gratefully received.
'Thank you for all the love and support that has been coming our way, and thank you also from Rik.' She added that lucky charms sent to Mayall by a young fan called Lara 'have done their work'.
Mayall bought the country estate last year as a retreat for his wife and their children Rosie, 11, Sidney, nine, and two-year-old Bonnie.