Amanda Abbington was reduced to tears as her fiancé recalled telling her 'she could leave' after suffering a life-changing accident. The Sherlock actress appeared on Lorraine alongside Jonathan Goodwin in his first TV interview since being left paralysed.
Earlier this week it was revealed that Britain's Got Talent escapologist Jonathan almost died twice after a stunt went disastrously wrong. Daredevil Jonathan, who was in the final of ITV talent show in 2019, is now in a wheelchair after rehearsing for the show America's Got Talent: Extreme.
The 42-year-old was left in a critical condition after plunging 30ft to the ground during a suspension stunt at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Georgia. The horror accident happened in October last year when Jonathan was performing a stunt in which he would hang upside down 30ft in the air between two suspended cars and escape from a straitjacket.
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Amanda shared the news of her partner's accident on restaurant critic Jay Rayner’s Out to Lunch podcast and the 48-year-old, who has two children with ex-husband The Office star Martin Freeman, said it's unlikely Jonathan will ever walk again.
Talking to Lorraine Kelly on her self-titled ITV show on Friday, Jonathan admitted he told Amanda she could leave him after the accident, revealing: "I did say you have a great out of jail free card, you can walk away. I completely understand." As his wife-to-be held on to his hand, the host said to him: "You said that?" to which he replied: "Of course," as she replied: "You must love Amanda very much to say that."
He then added: "She told me not to be so stupid," as the pair shared a knowing look and Amanda tried to shake off her emotions. "Thanks for that," she turned to say to her husband-to-be referring to her watering eyes as he and Lorraine laughed.
An emotional Amanda, who was sat by his side, fought back her tears as she told how the accident had made them closer than ever. "We are closer and tighter than ever. We just have this unspoken thing," she said.
Amanda also cheekily branded her partner an "idiot" as she said" "He's an idiot but i'm a wally so it's fine," before talking about how the pair met. "We had known each other for a while but never met," Jonathan said. "Our first call was seven hours "I flew to Vienna, because she was working there, to meet her after a month of chatting."
"We were engaged within half an hour," he revealed. Gushing over he partner, who she plans to marry this year, Amanda also said during their TV appearance: "He’s a total inspiration, he’s an idiot, all my friends love him, the family love him and kids love him."
Sharing a photo from his hospital bed in October, Jonathan wrote: "There is a long road to recovery and that won’t look like what it did…I may leave the daft s*** alone for a while, but I have a lot left to do in this world." Then in February he shared a photo of the smitten couple as he left hospital after four months. "Four months later… finally out of hospital. My birthday today… can’t think of a better way to spend it than with my love," he said.
