Jason Donovan brought the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to a halt after his foot became trapped in scenery.
Jason, 51, who plays the Pharaoh in the new production, was apparently standing in the wrong place and fell foul of a trapdoor.
The curtain came down and there was an anxious wait for the audience at the London Palladium to find out what had happened.
A show source said: “Jason was stood in slightly the wrong place and his foot got caught when some scenery was meant to go through a trapdoor.
“Cast are always given precise instructions on where to stand to avoid this but Jason must have forgotten or made a slight mistake and the next thing he was in trouble and could have been badly injured.
"The curtains went down and there was a gasp from some audience members.”
The source said co-star Sheridan Smith, who plays the Narrator, eventually appeared and shouted “back on your feet” to launch the show finale.
Jason took his bows with the rest of the cast. He is thought to have received medical attention but it was decided he was fit to continue and was due back on stage tonight.
The Aussie actor is back in the show 28 years after he starred as Joseph in 1991, to mark the 40th anniversary of its arrival at the Palladium.
