Good Morning Britain’s Richard Madeley details freak accident that led to TV absence

Richard Madeley has revealed that he had to get stitches in his tongue after suffering a freak accident.

The 66-year-old was addressing his recent absence from Good Morning Britain on Monday’s show when he shared details about the incident.

His co-host Susanna Reid acknowledged his return, stating: “We haven’t yet, Richard Madeley, said welcome back. You appear to have made a full recovery.”

He began: “Oh yes, hi,” before explaining he had been talking with a lisp for “quite a long time”.

Elaborating, he first quipped: “I was either a freak having an accident or I had a freak accident, take your pick.

“I was crouching down on a slope between my open car door and I was just fiddling around with something at the bottom of the car and I turned around just as the door decided to close itself, gravity pulled it shut.”

A squeamish Reid then grimaced as Madeley explained how his car door had then slammed into him with such a force that it made him bite his tongue.

He added: “It’s a big heavy door and it hit me on the chin and I really bit my tongue, to the extent I needed an op, I had to have some stitches in it.

“I turned around as the door decided to close itself. Gravity pulled it shut, it’s a big heavy door.”

Following the incident, the broadcaster went to hospital and had to have three stitches in his tongue.

Madeley then pointed out: “I didn’t actually get the sack as one magazine reported.”

After sharing his story, Reid said the injury sounded “horrible”, telling him: “I don’t know why I‘m asking you, because there’s something about tongues.”

To which he told her: “Let’s not go into any more detail – you don’t want to hear it.”

In recent weeks, Ed Balls has been filling in for Madeley on the ITV morning stalwart.

However on Sunday, Reid teased the veteran presenter’s return on Instagram as she shared a snap of the pair of them to her followers.

"HE’S BACK! Tomorrow @richardmadeleyofficial returns to @gmb," alongside an emoji of hands raised in the air.