Rik Mayall collapsed while on stage performing his The New Statesman show.

The comedian reportedly made it through most of the play on Tuesday night then suddenly grabbed himself in pain and fell to the floor.

The Daily Mirror reports that Mayall dropped two performances last week blaming laryngitis but his current problem has not been confirmed.

An audience member told the paper how the star had struggled to get as far as he did. "He had looked ill and kept forgetting his lines," he recalled. "He even apologised for it at one point, blaming it on a dental appointment earlier in the day.

"He was deathly pale and sweating a lot. Then, all of a sudden, he said, 'Oh my God' and doubled over in pain," continued the source. "At first we were worried he was having a heart attack. He hobbled back on for a curtain call but it was obvious he was in pain."

A spokesman at the Trafalgar theatre, where Mayall's political comedy is due to run until the end of January, said: "The performance was cut short after Mr Mayall was taken ill."