Former Coronation Street actor Nigel Havers left BBC Morning Live hosts Holly Hamilton and Rav Wilding stunned on Friday after revealing a long-hidden injury sustained during the filming of Chariots of Fire.
Havers, 74, who played Lewis Archer on the ITV soap from 2009 to 2019, appeared on the programme to discuss his upcoming touring show. During the conversation, he disclosed that he broke his wrist and dislocated his shoulder while practicing hurdling for the 1981 film, but kept the injury secret for fear of losing his role.
“I clipped the last hurdle, and I stuck my hand out and I dislocated my shoulder… and I broke my wrist,” Havers said. “But I couldn't tell anybody because I thought if I broke my wrist I wouldn't be in the film. So it mended on its own, in a very sort of strange way.”
The actor then rolled up his sleeve to reveal the deformed wrist, prompting gasps from the hosts. Rav Wilding exclaimed, “So that's still there to this day?” Havers confirmed, adding that he has lost feeling in his thumb. The hosts joked that the secret was now out.
Havers earned a BAFTA nomination for his role as Lord Andrew Lindsay in Chariots of Fire. He also appeared in Empire of the Sun and A Passage to India.
