Paul Daniels Battling Depression

Magician Paul Daniels is battling depression after being admitted to hospital twice in the last month.

The 73-year-old was rushed to A&E after chopping off his finger in a horrific accident in January and underwent a procedure to remove gallstones on Saturday.

The star is resting at home following the procedure but the shock of both incidents has left the magic man depressed.

In a statement on his blog, Paul wrote: "This has been a terrible month. On the very first day I made a mistake using a table saw and damaged my left hand.

"It wasn't just the pain that hit me, or the realisation that I might not be able to perform magic again, it was the aftershock and stress that really cut into me and all month I have had to keep dragging myself up from depression."

Speaking about the aftermath of the terrible table saw accident, Paul told the Daily Telegraph: "I realised I had done some real damage. I rammed my hand into the chest of my coat and somehow ran to the car, started it and set off for nearby Henley, three miles away.

"I must have looked a weird sight, doubled over with my face all screwed up from the pain."

Just as the star started to recover from the incident, he then sank lower into depression after suffering painful stomach cramps.

He said: "I have had to give myself many a talking to and just when I thought I was winning I got severe stomach cramps. These were so severe I finished up being looked after by paramedics and taken into the Royal Berkshire Hospital."

He added: "I had had food poisoning that took me close to leaving the planet a couple of times and this felt like that, only worse. I wanted to be sick but I couldn't be. They hit me with pills on pills on pills, took blood and injected me to kill the pain and over a period of 12 hours came to the conclusion I had gall stones."

But Paul is determined to pull himself up again and improve his mood for the sake of his career.

He said: "Sometimes, I get really depressed and that is not me. I can't understand it. I can't climb away from it.

"I've decided this is not the way I want to live. I have people to make laugh and will start attacking the scene as soon as I can."

Trickster Paul has praised the support of his assistant and wife, Debbie McGee. He said: "She's my one-woman support team."