Puppet’s pizza joke lands Paul Daniels in hospital

Forget high-brow routines and political satire, some of the funniest jokes are of the old slapstick variety.

Magician Paul Daniels knows this more than anyone, which might explain why he allowed the children's puppet Sooty to throw a pizza at his bald bonce as part of the fluffy friend's ITV show.

It all sounds fairly harmless, but it seems the yellow puppet got a bit carried away and ended up throwing the fast food with such strength that 73-year-old Daniels had to be taken to hospital with a painful eye.

Richard Cadell was operating Sooty at the time and told Sky News he was devastated after realising the magician was hurt.

"Paul turned round and said 'Come on Sooty, give it some welly!', so I did. The second throw hit him hard," he is quoted as saying, although Daniels later denied asking for a stronger throw.

Thankfully the star – who previously appeared on Strictly Come Dancing – made a full recovery and is now preparing for his upcoming shows.

Posted by Trevor Smith