Stephen Fry treated chronic pain ‘like a friend’

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Stephen Fry has said that he sometimes thought of his chronic pain “as a friend” as he tried to cope with his condition after an accident.

The actor was injured in a 6 ft (1.8 m) fall from a stage in London’s O2 Arena last year, which left him in need of constant physical therapy.

He told Radio 4’s Today program that living with chronic pain “makes you afraid of basic movements”.

The 67-year-old said: “You almost call it a friend and say ‘It’s okay, I know why you’re there’ and you’re not a failure on the part of evolution or God or whatever you want to call nature. .”

Stephen Fry, a white man with gray hair, holds his head in his hands as he appears to be thinking hard. Stephen Fry, a white man with gray hair, holds his head in his hands as he appears to be thinking hard.

Stephen Fry opened up about chronic pain on Radio 4’s Today program (BBC)

Fry, who rose to fame in the 1980s as one half of the Fry and Laurie double act, spoke to Professor Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, during her guest editorship of the Radio 4 show.

As a neuroscientist, Prof Tracey focused her program on understanding and treating pain, a subject to which she has devoted her career.

Fry told her: “Are we wrong to think that it is quite British to think that pain is something that should be endured?” he asked.

He said people sometimes think that “we have to suffer if we have this injury, that it’s the natural course”.

During the two-hour special, Prof Tracey also spoke to former Olympic champion Mo Farah about how he dealt with pain.

Prof Tracey said: “Pain is subjective, it’s a private experience that you can’t really objectify, it’s a quirk in itself.”

She also discussed work taking place both in Oxford and further afield to research chronic pain.

Prof Tracey in black dresses and a white shirt. She stands with her arms down in front and has short brown hari. Behind her is a rather old stone doorway.Prof Tracey in black dresses and a white shirt. She stands with her arms down in front and has short brown hari. Behind her is a rather old stone doorway.

Prof Irene Tracey has been Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford since 2022 (University of Oxford)

The special program too had a message from the Popewho delivered the Thought of the Day for the second time.

The 88-year-old spoke of creating “a world full of hope and kindness” in a message recorded in Italian and translated into English by an actor.

Prof Tracey is one of six people who will guest edit the program between Christmas and New Year.

Other guest editors during the festive period include presenter and author Baroness Floella Benjamin, British cyclist Dame Laura Kenny and former Chancellor Sir Sajid Javid.

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