Jason Manford breaks silence after his pantomime performance was stopped for 45 minutes due to a serious 'medical emergency'

Jason Manford has broken his silence on X on Monday after his recent pantomime performance at the Manchester Opera House was stopped due to a medical emergency.

The comedian, 43, is currently playing Prince Charming in the Cinderella pantomime and over the weekend one show didn't go to plan as the performance came to a stop for 45 minutes due to an audience member falling ill. 

Taking to X, one fan recalled the scary moment, they wrote: 'Brilliant panto tonight as always this amazing cast always deliver @JasonManford @realbennickless @myradubois despite the medical emergency the show continued and never disappoints. Same time again next year of course.'

Jason responded to the fan, clarifying that someone in the audience needed care and commended the theatre staff and paramedics for helping. 

He wrote: 'She was a difficult night with the medical emergency but front of house staff & paramedics dealt with it so well. 

'Thoughts are with the poorly person, hope you're on the mend. Thanks to great crowd for sticking with us after 45 minutes of silence!'

Other audience members weighed in on the interruption, and said the cast and crew handled the situation as best they could. 

They wrote: 'Was still a fab evening. The cast did a great job of getting everyone back in the flow which to be honest, I didn’t think would happen and wondered if we should leave. Best wishes to the poorly lady and her family'; 

'Was a scary moment for sure but dealt with as quickly as possibly, I hope the staff who dealt with it are ok to, some were being shouted at and that’s just not ok xx';

'The show was class and we all just hope whoever the emergency was for is ok';

It comes after Jason reflected on his experience as a single parent following his split from his first wife, Catherine.

The presenter appeared on Jessie and Lennie Ware's Table Manners podcast, where he spoke about the adjustments he had to make after the breakdown of his first marriage. 

Now married to producer Lucy Dyke, Jason candidly shared how he had to 'learn all these things my ex-wife had done' while co-parenting their children.

Jason married Catherine in October 2007, and they had four children together before separating. 

During the podcast, the group discussed how much time parents spend with their children, noting that by the time a child turns twelve, parents have spent 60% of the total time they will ever spend with them.

Reflecting on his own experience, Jason said: 'I found myself for a long time, certainly early on in my, my big children's childhood where, I watch back at old videos and stuff, where, the way I describe it was, I was there, but I wasn't present.'

When Jessie asked, 'When did you switch?' Jason replied, 'I think I heard the sixteen summers phrase and just...[makes a vomit noise].'

He continued: 'I also went through a divorce and I suddenly became, you know, when I had them we had like a 50/50 with the kids there, and suddenly like 'right what do I?'

'I've just been working all the time and suddenly I had to learn all these new things that my ex-wife had done.

'I remember having to go to like, I went to the local hairdressers, and was like 'can you show me how to do girls' hair?' because I had not done it.'

Lennie then asked, 'So you can do a French braid?' Jason responded, 'I can do a little ballet bun on occasion.'

In 2012, Jason poignantly acknowledged that his relationship with Catherine 'disintegrated' because he didn't give her enough 'care and time'.

The comedian admitted their union didn't get the attention it deserved because he was too focused on work and providing for his children. 

He said to the Mirror: 'My first marriage really disintegrated on my theory of, "I don’t want my children to have the childhood I had".

'So I was out working all of the time and I didn’t put the care and time into that relationship that it deserved and needed.'

Jason - who was raised in a council house in relative poverty - continued: 'It’s only now I’m starting to realise, "Oh, I’m not giving the children the childhood I had", which is good in one thing but bad in another.

'Because I got to spend so much time [with my parents] and we had laughs with my parents.'

Jason is the parent to six children. He shares twin daughters and a daughter and son with Catherine and a girl and boy, with current wife Lucy.

The star tied the knot with Lucy in a ceremony in Manchester in 2017.

Lucy also works in TV as a producer and has worked on Black Mirror, The Split and Ripper Street as well as many more shows.