Dame Edna star Barry Humphries in Sydney hospital after problems following hip substitute

TV star and comic Barry Humphries is being handled in hospital after being readmitted following therapy for a fall, in keeping with media reviews.

The 89-year-old Australian star, who’s greatest identified for portraying his purple-haired alter-ego Dame Edna Everage, is alleged to have suffered problems after tripping earlier within the 12 months and having a hip substitute.

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald from a rehabilitation centre in March, Humphries stated he had been in “agony” following the incident.

“It was the most ridiculous thing, like all domestic incidents are,” the entertainer instructed the newspaper.

“I was reaching for a book, my foot got caught on a rug or something, and down I went.”

He added that he was decided to get again on his ft.

“The result of my broken hip means I now have a titanium hip… you can call me ‘Bionic Bazza’,” he joked.

Reports from Australia say he’s again in hospital in Sydney, though with differing accounts of his situation.

The Sydney Morning Herald reviews that Humphries answered a name from the newspaper, earlier than family and friends took the telephone. “He’s fine,” his spouse Lizzie Spender is quoted as saying.

In an announcement despatched to the newspaper, his household stated: “Barry Humphries is currently in hospital receiving treatment for health issues. Barry would like to thank everybody for the support and good wishes he has received but would like more and more. He would also like to thank the wonderful doctors, nurses and staff at St Vincent’s Hospital.”

However, showbiz reporter Peter Ford instructed Australian breakfast present Sunrise that Humphries’ well being had “worsened in the last week”.

“At this moment Barry is [in] a serious condition but being kept comfortable. He’s surrounded by family,” he tweeted.

Speaking on Sunrise, Ford stated: “Barry won’t give up easily. Barry has something marked on his calendar, and that is to say he’ll be back on stage before the end of this year…

“Things are powerful and all we are able to do at this time limit is to principally give a giant shout out to Barry Humphries and say, ‘Australia loves you and we’ll at all times be thankful for all the pieces you might have given us’. And I reckon Barry has a combating spirit and he isn’t going to surrender simply.”

Humphries is known for characters including Sir Les Patterson, Sandy Stone and Barry McKenzie, and for starring in films and appearing in the West End.

Last year, he toured his show, The Man Behind The Mask, an “intimate” performance in which Humphries himself was the “principal character”.

He is best known and loved as Dame Edna, the household favourite with the cat-eye glasses, the love of gladioli, and the famous catchphrase: “Hello, possums!”

Her exhibits have included The Dame Edna Experience and Dame Edna’s Neighbourhood Watch, and he or she has additionally appeared on Broadway.