MARTIN Barrass came on stage at the York Theatre Royal panto last night and won a standing ovation.

The 60-year-old is unable to take part in this year's production of Cinderella after being badly injured in a motorbike crash in September.

But he was in the audience during the second night of the run and was invited on stage by panto dame Berwick Kaler, to the delight of both Martin and a packed theatre audience.

Berwick joked about the accident and his own operation in August, in which he had a pacemaker fitted, and Martin joked that he had enjoyed watching the show and would be in the audience again next year, before pledging to return to the show.

Many in the audience stood to clap and cheer Martin, who told The Press earlier this week how police told him he was the “luckiest man on the planet” after surviving 17 broken ribs, a “mashed” liver and a fractured ankle in the crash near Skipton.

He revealed that his heart stopped for five minutes after he was flown by Yorkshire Air Ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary and was being treated in intensive care. “It was touch and go,” he added.