Amanda Abbington and Jonathan Goodwin discuss their story
Amanda Abbington’s fiancé Jonathan Goodwin has reportedly sued TV channel NBC after suffering life-changing injuries in a stunt gone dramatically wrong during rehearsals for America’s Got Talent: Extreme back in October 2021.
The former daredevil, who got engaged to the actress and Strictly Come Dancing contestant months before the accident, is reportedly suing for damages, claiming America’s Got Talent: Extreme failed “to implement industry safety standards”.
He has alleged in a lawsuit acquired by TMZ that “unqualified people” had been hired to oversee his stunt and that a crash dummy was not used to test the act’s safety before he performed it in rehearsal.
Jonathan, who suffered the disastrous accident two years ago, also alleges that the show “controlled, designed, and interfered with safe performances” of stunts.
Express.co.uk has approached NBC for comment.
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In October 2021, the 43-year-old had been suspended upside down in a straitjacket before trying to escape from being crushed by two burning cars.
The stunt went catastrophically wrong and he was crushed by the cars before plummeting to the ground.
The star recalled later how he’d given Amanda a “get out of jail free card” and the green light to walk away if the extent of his injuries was off-putting to her.
In his lawsuit, he claimed he’d lost a kidney, dislocated his spinal cord, fractured his legs and ribs, and suffered third degree burns.
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Jonathan also stated that he’d been left paralysed from the waist down and that a surgeon who treated him believed the case was the worst of its nature he’d come across in his entire career.
During an interview with Good Morning America last year, Jonathan recalled: “The spinal surgeon said that my injury was the worst that he’d ever seen and also told me that there was a really good chance I wouldn’t make it through the surgery.”
He also claimed that people at the scene had initially thought they’d witnessed his death due to the extent of the impact.
Talking of his fiancee, Jonathan added: “I said to her, ‘You know – clearly you have a get out of jail free card’.”
However, he says she has stayed devoted to him throughout, with the stuntman gushing: “Amanda has been there for me every day since… and was really my motivation to get through it.”
“I should have died on the operating table from the accident, so I am incredibly lucky to be here,” he later stated on ITV’s Loose Women.
“Not that I would recommend nearly dying but it’s incredible, therapy, and then I feel so lucky and I pinch myself.”
He added that due to “all the physical challenges I’ve had in my life”, he had become “uniquely adapted to dealing with” the injuries.
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