Adam Woodyatt's son runs London marathon after car crash 1

Adam Woodyatt's son runs London marathon after car crash



He had to learn to walk again after shattering his pelvis in a serious car accident last year.

But Adam Woodyatt's son Sam proved he had made a full, miraculous recovery from his injuries on Sunday, as he ran the London Marathon with his actor father.

The EastEnders star, who plays Ian Beale on the soap, was bursting with pride for his 18-year-old after the race - who ran the 26.2 miles in an impressive four hours, despite being left in a wheelchair mere months ago.



The actor, 48, had taken part in the famously difficult race with his son, but Sam had beaten his father to the finish line by three hours.

Crossing the line himself however, actor Adam had nothing but admiration for his son, who had successfully completed the race in light of devastating injuries which left him unable to walk last year.

He said of his amazing recovery to the Press Association: 'It has been pretty miraculous, and then he goes and runs this in four hours and 24 minutes. It was brilliant.'



Going into more detail about the injuries themselves, he explained:  'He got hit by a car back in September, the London Air Ambulance came out to him and put him in an induced coma for two days, a five-hour op to rebuild his pelvis.'

Making the 26-mile feat even more amazing, the BBC star then revealed he had only recently learned to walk again, let alone run, in light of the traumatic crash.

He said: 'He was in a wheelchair for eight weeks had to learn to walk again which he did really quickly, then he had to run which he did really really quickly, then he went back to doing his gymnastics and all his tumbling really really quickly.'



Lightening the mood however, Adam went on to joke that he had held the upper hand at the start of the run, despite Sam eventually finishing with a far quicker time.

He laughed: 'With Sam, I had him for the first mile - gone. But somewhere around Poplar, might have been Docklands, I don't know, we stopped and got an ice cream.'

The pair raised £6,500 for the London Air Ambulance, in honour of their services to Sam after the crash.

Woodyatt, who is EastEnders' longest-serving actor, had informed fans about the incident on his JustGiving page last year - vowing to still run with his son despite the injury.

After agreeing to complete the 26-mile challenge, the 18-year-old was then struck by a vehicle when crossing the road in London on September 29.

He was taken to the Royal London Hospital where he was put in an induced coma, ahead of a traumatic five-hour long operation to 'put him back together'.

Going on to explain his son was on the road to recovery however, he explained in the post from November:  'Up until last Monday he was in a wheelchair, on Tuesday he started on crutches, yesterday, Friday 18th November, he was walking up a staircase unaided.'

He added: 'I then talked it through with my son Sam in mid September and we came up with the idea of him running it and me walking it as a kind of tortoise and the hare to show the difference in transfer times between an Ambulance and an Air Ambulance.'