Taron Egerton has withdrawn from his role in the West End play Cock due to “personal reasons”.
The Rocketman actor has been performing alongside Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey in a revival of Mike Bartlett’s 2009 play at London’s Ambassadors Theatre.
But the 32-year-old has been beset by difficulties since starting the run in March after fainting during the opening night and then later testing positive for Covid-19.
He will be replaced by his understudy Joel Harper-Jackson, who has stepped in on both occasions, for the remainder of the run until 4 June.
A statement from the producers said: “The part was originally played in this production by Taron Egerton, who has had to withdraw from the production due to personal reasons.
“Joel understudied the role and has been playing the part of M for the past 10 days while Taron was absent from the production having tested positive for Covid.”
Director Marianne Elliott said: “Joel is an absolute hero. He is a brilliant and gifted actor and stepped into the role at extremely short notice.
“Audiences have been standing and cheering and so am I.”
Co-star Jonathan Bailey added: “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.”
During the show’s opening night, Taron fainted on stage and was attended to by a doctor in the audience, with his understudy stepping in to finish the play.
Following the initial incident, Taron reassured fans he was “completely fine”, but had suffered a “sore neck and a bruised ego”.
He vowed to be “back with a vengeance” and thanked Joel for stepping in to finish the performance.
Last week, Taron was forced to withdraw from the play again after testing positive for Covid-19.
