Taron Egerton withdraws from West End show

Taron Egerton has withdrawn completely from appearing in his West End show Cock where he was starring alongside Bridgerton‘s Jonathan Bailey.

The announcement that the Rocketman actor has dropped out ‘for personal reasons’ comes after he was replaced when he tested positive for Covid-19 and fainted on stage during the opening night of the play.

In a statement released by the Twitter account for the play, a revival of Mike Bartlett’s 2009 production Cock at London‘s Ambassador Theatre, it said that understudy Joel Harper-Jackson will take over the role of M previously played by Taron.

‘Joel Harper-Jackson will take over the role of M in Mike Bartlett’s razor sharp, hilarious play Cock until the end of the run,’ it said.

‘The part was originally played in this production by Taron Egerton, who has had to withdraw from the production due to personal reasons.’

The statement added that Joel was an understudy for the role, ‘and has been playing the part of M for the past ten days while Taron was absent from the production having tested positive for Covid’.

Lower down in the statement: Director Marianne Elliott described Joel as an ‘absolute hero’, saying that he’s a ‘brilliant and gifted actor’ who took over the role ‘at extremely short notice’.

‘Audiences have been standing and cheering and so am I,’ Marianne added.

Jonathan, who has recently been leaving Netflix viewers swooning with his return as Anthony Bridgerton in the second season of the hit period drama Bridgerton, added that Joel is ‘an immense talent and we couldn’t be luckier to have him on board’.

‘I am proud to continue sharing the stage with him,’ he concluded in his part of the statement.

Cock centres around John (Bailey), a man who falls in love with a woman (Jade Anouka) after going on a break from his long-term boyfriend (Egerton).

Last week the production team also released a statement after Taron fainted on stage.

The statement read: ‘During this evening’s first preview of Mike Bartlett’s play ‘Cock’ at the Ambassadors Theatre, Taron Egerton fainted towards the end of the performance.

‘A doctor who was in the audience attended to Taron immediately after the incident, and whilst he felt fine, it was decided that Taron’s understudy, Joel Harper-Jackson would continue in the role to complete the performance.’

Taron subsequently wrote on Instagram: ‘As some of you may have heard, I passed out during the first performance of COCK last night.

‘I am completely fine. Slightly sore neck and a bruised ego, but I’m fine.

‘I’ve decided to put a positive spin on it and I would appreciate it if anyone who was in the theatre last night just said that I gave such a committed, electrifying performance that my body couldn’t handle it and check out.

‘That being said, apparently you’re meant to actually do the full show and not just three quarters of it. [sic]’

Taron praised his ‘amazing’ understudy for stepping in.

His post continued: ‘I’ll be back with a vengeance tomorrow night. That you to the amazing team at the theatre and my wonderful cast mates for being so lovely.

‘But mainly I wanted to say thanks to Joel Harper Jackson who stepped in to do the last bit of the play.

‘Joel is an amazing actor and a lovely person. Thank you, Joel. T x. [sic]’

It comes amid the news that Bridgerton – which stars Jonathan – has continued its reign on Netflix with season two already setting a record on the streamer less than a week after premiering on the platform.

The romance series has already logged 193 million hours of viewing time worldwide, the most any English-language Netflix series has amassed in its first three days, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Not only that, but the hit series is also in the top 10 in 92 of the 93 countries where rankings are tracked by Netflix, with Japan being the only outlier, adds THR.

Season two of Bridgerton sees Lord Anthony (Jonathan) becoming embroiled in a love triangle with Sharma sisters Edwina (Charithra Chandran) and Kate (Simone Ashley) after Edwina is suggested as a match for Anthony. However, he is drawn to her older sister Kate.

Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) returns in season two, though this time her now-husband Duke of Hastings (Rege Jean-Page) does not appear.

Jonathan, who’s character takes centre stage in the new season, admitted he felt under pressure to perform and keep viewers enticed for the next instalment.

‘Stepping into the shoes Phoebe Dynevor and Regé-Jean Page wore, and led with so gracefully last season, has taught me a lot.

‘This season has kept me on my toes. I got really fit, I made sure to eat well and get loads of sleep, and everything else just seemed to fall into place,’ he said, according to The Sun.