Having begun his career in the mid-1980s, Julian Clary is a pro when it comes to performing and dazzling his peers in showbiz. However, that’s not to say everything goes according to plan all the time..
. Julian has toured in several stage shows, including pantomimes, for over three decades and will return to the London Palladium in 2024 for his ninth year. This time, he’ll be praying that he avoids any dalliance mortality.
Speaking to Metro , Julian recalls the three times he’s almost met his maker in front of a live audience. ‘I’ve had several brushes with death,’ begins the 65-year-old comedian . ‘On three occasions, a glitterball has crashed to the ground, and the old-fashioned glitterballs are huge and very heavy.
They were made of metal and hooked up above where you’re performing with a safety chain. ‘But somehow, three times over the decades, something has gone wrong and a scenery change has happened when something has knocked into the glitterball so it’s come loose and crashed to the ground, within inches of me each time, and smashed onto the stage. ‘Once, in Australia, it crashed onto a woman sitting on the front row and crushed her knee, severely injuring her.
‘Each time, I’ve thought...
I could’ve died, but I’ve also thought, what a way to go!’ Admitting that his near-fatal incidents were ‘terrifying’, Julian recounts one time in panto when he had to descend to the stage on a giant swing. ‘They had to put me up there 10 minutes .