Charlie Lawson health update: Coronation Street legend rushed to hospital after two horror falls

The 65-year-old actor - who is best known for several stints in the ITV soap as Jim McDonald - took to social media from his hospital bed to update fans on his condition.

In a video captioned "Ooooh s***!!!", he said: "Hi folks, went to physio this morning and she sent me straight to A+E, which I did.

"They examined me. I have an MRI scan and I'm sitting waiting for the results. They've whisked me back in for more examinations so it's not going awfully well at the moment.

"Anyway, I'll keep you updated. They put a wristband on me and all sorts of craic.

"I've fallen over twice, so something going wrong down there."

Charlie - who married his long-time love Debbie Stanley in 2023 - also told one concerned fan that he is waiting to hear from the spinal surgeon.

He wrote: "Thanks darling, awaiting the opinion of the spinal surgeon. Xxx"

Last year, Charlie admitted he doesn't ever envisage being invited back to 'Corrie' to reprise his role as Jim, who he last portrayed in 2018.

He told the Daily Mirror newspaper at the time: "It wouldn't shock me if he dies in Australia. I think it would be a terrible waste of a character, and I would stand up and have a pint and salute to him. But I wouldn't be broken-hearted because I've been back seven or eight times, for Christ's sake, since 2001 that's pretty damn good as it's 2024.

"Now I haven't been back since 2018 but the whole world has changed since then into a crazy woke sort of... it's all changed. I'm not quite sure how Jim would react to 24 genders in Weatherfield. I suspect he would probably - if the writers had the courage - I suspect he would probably say that that was nonsense."

Jim was famously married to former Rovers Return landlady Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard), but their relationship was tested by alcoholism and infidelity.

They divorced in 1997 after Liz had been unfaithful to him, and they remarried in 2000, but Jim was later imprisoned for the manslaughter of drug dealer Jez Quigley (Lee Boardman), who had previously beaten his son Steve (Simon Gregson) up over a job.

Liz divorced Jim for a second time during his prison sentence, and in 2011 he tried to win her back by robbing a bank.

But he was put behind bars again.

In 2018, Jim returned to the series with a young woman called Hannah Gilmore (Hannah Ellis Ryan), who he falsely claimed was his and Liz's long-lost daughter Katie.

However, Hannah was actually Jim's girlfriend, and the pair were later arrested for a money-making scam when the truth emerged.