Dawn French has shown off her surgery scar as she shared an insight into how she was recovering following her major knee surgery that took place towards the end of November.
Taking to her Instagram Stories, the 66-year-old posted a photo from inside her living room as she performed some physiotherapy. Dawn was hooked up to a small device in which she circled her feet around like a bike. The equipment featured a purple inflatable ball next to the main device, while the number on screen showed 1,076.
© InstagramDawn's photo also featured her post-surgical scar which ran up her entire knee and part of her leg. Dawn had the operation in November following a bout of debilitating knee pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis and an old injury.
Speaking at the time, the comedian and actress wrote: "It's done. New knee is in. Now we start healing..." On X, formerly known as Twitter, she captioned an image of her leg in a cast: "New knee is in! [clapping emojis]."
Dawn's fans rushed to wish her well and celebrate the good news, with their comments including: "Get well soon Dawn, you make the world a funnier place to be," "Woo-hoo. Sending fast and hassle free healing wishes," and: "You'll be trotting about in no time".
The multi-talented performer helmed the hugely popular BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley in the 1990s, but while she's remembered for the comedy joy the show brought to viewers, it inspired an injury that sadly left Dawn in agonising pain for years.
© InstagramThe star recently revealed that a stunt where she appeared to fall into a huge puddle almost led to Dawn undergoing a knee replacement much sooner. The comedian was asked to recreate the classic scene in 2009 while covering for Paul O'Grady on his chat show, and while it garnered adoration from Dawn's fans, it resulted in years of pain.
She recounted the ordeal during a recent stage performance in Exeter, telling her fans how the TV show set about recreating the scene. "They constructed a 10ft-high hill out of scaffolding covered in AstroTurf. The idea was that there was a long enough drop for me to disappear into.
"Then some bright spark had the idea of having a shallow silicone membrane containing two inches of water on top so that, as I jumped through, the water would splash up and look like a deep puddle."
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However, the stunt didn't go to plan, with the star explaining: "But what was I falling onto? The answer is absolutely nothing. Except for 10ft below there were two very thin crash mats in a film studio with a flat concrete floor. Any fool would know this was a disaster in the making. Any fool but me."
