An escapologist who reached the final of Britain's Got Talent almost died twice and has been left paralysed after a stunt went disastrously wrong.
Daredevil Jonathan Goodwin, who starred on the ITV show in 2019, has been left in a wheelchair after his rehearsal for the show America's Got Talent: Extreme ended in catastrophe.
The 42-year-old was practicing a suspension stunt at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Georgia when he plunged 30ft to the ground in October last year.
His fiancé Amanda Abbington revealed that the incident has left him paralysed for life, Manchester Evening News reports.
The actress, who starred in Sherlock and Mr Selfridge, said her partner nearly died twice following the horror accident, once after the fall and a second time on the operating table.
He was performing a stunt in which he would hang upside down 30ft in the air between two suspended cars and escape from a straitjacket.
Speaking on restaurant critic Jay Rayner’s Out to Lunch podcast Amanda said: "He smashed in between the two cars and the cars set on fire. He fell 30ft and lost a kidney, broke both shoulder blades, shattered both legs, third degree burns, broke his spine and severed his spinal cord and nearly died. And then on the operating table he nearly died again."
Amanda told Jay: "He's been in rehab since October. He's paralysed now, he's in a wheelchair." The 48-year-old actress, who has two children with ex-husband The Office star Martin Freeman, says it's unlikely Jonathan will ever walk again.
She continued: “Unless there’s a kind of stem cell surgery or that thing that Elon Musk is designing with the little chip, he’ll be like that.” Jonathan proposed to Amanda weeks before the accident.
She said proudly about her man: "He's incredible. He's so positive and upbeat and so strong, so happy. A very happy positive human being. He's liquid sunshine."
Jonathan has since retired after the accident. As he shared a photo from his hospital bed in October he 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."
Amanda says her fiance left her an emotional message before he went into surgery saying there was a 50/50 chance he wouldn't make it. She was overjoyed to receive a text from him to say they had 'lots to talk about' and telling her he loved her.
In February Jonathan 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 Instagrammed.
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