Peep Show star Matt King has revealed he has suffered a stroke that left him paralysed after his legs went like ‘jelly’
13:40, 30 Apr 2026Updated 15:37, 30 Apr 2026
Matt King suffered a stroke
Peep Show star Matt King has suffered a stroke that left him paralysed. The actor, 58, was rushed to hospital following a rare stroke to his spinal chord and has now issued an updated from his hospital bed.
The actor best known for his role as Super Hans in the hit sitcom took a selfie with a teddy bear in his shoulder. In t he caption he penned: “It’s true. I had a rare stroke of the spinal cord on Sunday. I was initially paralysed but was rushed to The Royal Sussex and the staff have been amazing.
King then made reference to Series 7 Peep Show episode A Beautiful Mind in which his alter ego Super Hans gives up all substances and then “accidentally runs to Windsor” after the “endorphins kicked in”.
He added: “Can walk again, a bit. My legs were jelly, man. It didnt feel f*****g brilliant. Thank you for all the love and kindness.”
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Matt King played Super Hans in Peep Show(Image: UGC)
Peep Show co-star Vera Graziadei, who played Elena in the series, had concerned fans with her post a day earlier as she shared a snap of Matt in Peep Show. She wrote: “Peeples, let’s send some prayers and love to our dear friend and bloody brilliant actor and human – Matt @thatmattkingfella who needs it now. Health issue so send your love and support to him!”
He has since replied to her to say: “Thank you to my beautiful and amazing friend @vera.graziadei for her kindness and words. I’m doing okay. They will rebuild me, at a cost of exactly six million dollars. I should get some sort of nickname out of that. Thanks for all the love. MK”
Matt had portrayed the role of Super Hans for 12 years in Peep Show. The sitcom which follows the exploits of flatmates Mark Corrigan (David Mitchell) and Jez Usbourne (Robert Webb) aired for nine series between 2003 and 2015. He also went on to perform as the character during DJ sets across the country after the show ended.
The Great Peep Show Christmas Bake Off(Image: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)
Super Hans was Jez’ fantasist and drug user friend in the sitcom. He had a penchant for crack cocaine and Matt got the role although Russell Brand also auditioned for the part.
He previously told the Guardian : “No, never touched the stuff. I mean I’ve been a bit hedonistic in the past I suppose but never in the same ballpark as Super Hans.”
“[Super Hans] is not a million miles away from the bad side of me. I get to act out the times I want to be amoral and not give a sh*t about another human being.
“We’ve all got a bit of that in us, Super Hans just takes it to the farthest possible degree. He has no moral compass. In fact, he’s thrown his moral compass away and taken a sh*t on it.”
Matt reunited with his Peep Show co-stars David Mitchell, Olivia Colman, Isy Suttie and Sophie Winkleman for The Great Peep Show Christmas Bake Off which aired on Channel 4 on Christmas Day last year.
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