THE timeless Daphne du Maurier classic book and Oscar winning Alfred Hitchcock film Rebecca has been brilliantly adapted for the stage and completes it's highly acclaimed national run in Southampton next week.

Leading the cast as Maxim de Winter is Tristan Sturrock - a fact which is remarkable in itself.

For the actor broke his neck, almost died and was left paralysed little over a decade ago.

Not only did he turn his brush with death into an award-winning stage play called May Day Mayday but he has gone on to play Zacky Martin in the hit TV series Poldark as well as Danny Steele in the other West Country hit Doc Martin.

The dad of three fell backwards off a wall after a night out with friends in Padstow. He fell ten feet onto his head, broke his neck and was wedged, paralysed and unable to speak, down a narrow gap between a wall and the garage of a house.

Fortunately, after an hour long search with a neighbour ( an ex- army medic) , his pregnant girlfriend at the time ( now wife), Katy Carmichael – who played florist Lucy Richards in Coronation Street found him.

Tristan says: "I remember hearing them searching in the darkness nearby, unable to feel most of my body or let them know where I was. I recall thinking – what a stupid way to die, wedged drunk between a garage and a wall. "

The Bristol-based actor was airlifted to hospital in Plymouth, where he faced the agonising decision on whether to remain in a neck brace for 18 months and hope he would be able to walk again, or be operated on to fix his broken neck – an operation which could have killed him.

He opted for the operation and his gamble paid off. He faced months in hospital but made a good recovery.

"It was one of those life-changing moments. One minute I was walking home.I leant back on a wall and landed on my head and was instantly paralysed and everything changed from that moment", says Tristan.

"Writing the play was never an intention but when I managed to make a good recovery I thought I came to close to A/dying and B/ being paralysed permanently but I got over that and came out the other side. About five years later I read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and she's written so eloquently about the creature coming into being and sensations he felt and it just blew open everything I felt when I was waking up and coming to from my operation. It was almost word for word talking about everything I had been through. I had had to learn how to walk again so I found a huge parallel . So I thought I'd do my version of Frankenstein and tell my story as a parallel. But as I was work-shopping it I thought there are two pieces here: Frankenstein and also my story. It was a collision of miracles in a way. So I ended up telling my story. If it helps anyone who has had the same experience that's great - and also it's a way of thanking people in the NHS."

Today Tristan couldn't be busier - or happier. He has been touring with Rebecca since September and also filming Poldark.

"It's been hectic and involved quite a lot of major travelling up and down the country - sometimes ten hour drives over night but we've cracked the hardest part of it."

Fortunately the Rebecca tour finishes in Southampton so filming interior scenes for Poldark in Bristol will be easier.

Tristan plays Zacky Martin in the 18th Century Cornish drama, a village elder who is good friends with Ross Poldark.

Filming for the second series this Autumn/Winter has been quite different to last year.

"Last year we were filming in the summer - a fantastically beautiful summer so it looked more like Greece- we didn't have one bad day!In terms of storyline they were having to put clouds in afterwards to try and make it look moody!"

"This time the set nearly blew away. We had 80 mile an hour winds and couldn't film at all!" laughs Tristan.

"The mine works which were loose wooden structures and the pumping engine were getting blown out to sea. You don't realise how exposed it is. I raised my eyebrows at the time but they said it will be really atmospheric! It's a big production company and we just had to bite the bullet and carry on. But we are now going back in March to film episodes nine and 10!"

As for the interior mine scenes, they are filmed in Bristol.

"The walls are made of polystyrene. When you are in it it's absolutely authentic. They have put some real stone in it so you have to remember to bang that and not the polystyrene."

Poldark proved a huge hit for the BBC, peaking with nearly 10 million viewers. The second series, adapted by Debbie Horsfield from the Winston Graham novels, will have two more episodes than the first eight-part run and is due to air next year. Five series are expected.

Tristan is delighted: "It's brilliant and you never know if these things are going to catch hold. I think it might have helped when Aidan Turner took his top off!

"It caught a mood and Debbie has made a fantastic job of adapting the book. It's very exciting to be part of it."

He is also thrilled with how Rebecca has transported to the stage.

"I personally try to stay clear of reviews as they can affect how you perform but I'm pleased for Emma and the company. She's done a very interesting and brave theatrical adaptation. There's a lot of humour she's added- she's tweaked it out. It serves a purpose and helps exaggerate the darker bits. It adds contrast to the darker, broodier parts.

With Rebecca it's not a typical straight forward telling of the story. People who don't know it are taken in by the story and narrative, and others who do know the story are surprised and delighted as it draws out elements of the story that you don't get in the film. It's a Cornish company so those elements are very strong and the design is very strong."

And if we thought Doc Martin was set to end then we should think again. Tristan said:

"We are not sure if this is the last series or not. It's such a lovely job to do filming in Cornwall and Martin Clunes lives nearby. If the storylines are there they will continue to do it. They say this one will be the last but I wouldn't hold your breath!"

Tristan plays Danny Steele - one of Louisa's old loves.

"He's a born again Christian trying to win her back. It's a great part to play and I really wind Martin up!"

So looking back, had the trauma of Tristan's accident given him a better perspective on life?

"Absolutely! It's one of the most defining things that happened in my life something that totally focusses and re-directs and makes us look at life differently: only positivity came out of it. It completely changed my outlook - all for the better. If things had gone differently then maybe it would be different. Now the way I look at life is I grab things more and seize the moment and appreciate just being able to pick up a cup of tea and screw the top back on a bottle.

"The feeling in my hands and feet has all gone but it's a small price to pay. My spinal chord is always damaged but it is a sweet reminder of how lucky I am and because it was years ago you normalise it and you make good of it. It doesn't stop me doing anything at all. Your brain can really adapt to anything. "

Does he draw on the experience ever in his acting?

"I think I do but strangely not consciously. When I have been to do plays I think it helps you to go to dark places. I don't know if that's because of the accident or age but I think it has opened up access to areas you normally wouldn't be able to find. "

Tickets for Rebecca Mon 30 November – Sat 5 December are on sale from Mayflower Theatre Box Office tel: 02380 711811 or online at mayflower.org.uk. Ovation Restaurant bookings: 02380 711833