Barry Humphries: Dame Edna Everage star in hospital for ‘health issues’

Barry Humphries speaks after winning the Wizard of Oz award for his fictional character Sir Les Patterson during the Oldie Of The Year Awards 2021 at The Savoy Hotel in London on October 19, 2021

Australian entertainer Barry Humphries, best known for his comic character Dame Edna Everage, is being treated in hospital, his family have said.

The comedian, 89, had hip surgery last month after a fall in February, and was readmitted following complications, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

His family said he was “in hospital receiving treatment for health issues”.

They said he thanked “everybody for the support and good wishes he has received but would like more and more”.

In a statement to the paper, they added: “He would also like to thank the wonderful doctors, nurses and staff at St Vincent’s Hospital.”

The Australian is known for comic creations such as Dame Edna, Sir Les Patterson and Sandy Stone

His wife Lizzie Spender was quoted by the publication as saying he was “fine”.

Broadcaster Andrew Neil tweeted on Saturday to say he had visited the “legendary” Humphries, who he said had been having treatment “for months”.

“As always he had me in stitches even though he’s been undergoing various treatments for months in hospital,” Neil wrote. “I am in awe of his courage. And, of course, his humour, which is irrepressible, even in adversity.”

‘Hello possoms!’

Humphries’ most famous creation became a hit in the UK in the 1970s and landed her own TV chat show, the Dame Edna Everage Experience, in the late 1980s.

Famed for her lilac-rinsed hair and flamboyant glasses, she was often heard greeting audiences with the catchphrase: “Hello, Possums!”

His other popular characters on stage and screen include the lecherous drunk Australian cultural attaché Sir Les Patterson, and the more grandfatherly Sandy Stone.

He said of Stone in 2016 that he could “finally feel myself turning into him”.

The actor, author, director and scriptwriter, who is also a keen landscape painter, announced a farewell tour for his satirical one-man stage show in 2012.