British stage star Edward Petherbridge recovered from a series of strokes by throwing himself back into acting.

The 76 year old had to pull out of a New Zealand production of William Shakespeare's King Lear in 2007 after he suffered two strokes during rehearsals.

He spent a long time in rehabilitation to regain his motor functions and speech, but he was back on stage in 2010 in a West End production of musical The Fantasticks.

Petherbridge has now revealed going back to acting helped him recover fully, telling the Bbc, "I had two (strokes), actually. One day after another. The second time I was paralysed on my right hand side, couldn't write, couldn't walk very well at all, couldn't see very well at all... The best thing you can do for an actor who's had a stroke is to throw him into a rehearsal room, because he suddenly finds he has to use parts that he didn't think he could use very well... It's like sending old people to exercise classes and dance classes - they get better, they get younger."

Petherbridge has since put together a new stage show based on his experiences called My Perfect Mind, which is currently showing in Liverpool, England ahead of a transfer to London.