CONNOR BYRNE, THE SUN, THE TV MAG, MAY 6TH - MAY 12TH 2000.

Con's mean machine

The firefighting star reveals how an accident on Hyper's huge motorbike left him in agony.

Connor Byrne was looking forward to all the action and stunts he'd have to shoot after winning a starring role in London's Burning.

Little did he know he would end up a casualty before he had filmed a single scene of the hit drama!

The Limerick-born actor had to learn how to ride a 900cc superbike to play Irish firefighter Rob " Hyper" Sharpe - and promptly rowed himself into hospital.

Conor, 35, says: " I had never been on a motorbike before, not even as a passenger. But three days after I got the job, I was riding a Honda Fireblade.

" It was an incredible machine and with just a small turn of the throttle you can be doing 60mph.

" It's like riding a jet fighter, so it can be pretty scary. I had some good instruction but during my motorbike test I had to do a U-turn. The road was too narrow and I dropped to fireblade and failed. But the worst thing was that I slipped a disc trying to hold it up. I was in agony and ended up in hospital having all kinds of stuff to relieve the pain.

" It was quite seriously injured and had a slight limp during my first few episodes. I was supposed to be involved in one of the early shouts but the script had to be rewritten so that I could stay in the background, Thankfully, I'm fine now."

Connor, who lives in south London with his actress wife Rebecca Hartley and their 16 - month - old daughter Mimi, was a professional ballet dancer for five years before landing acting parts in Dangerfield and Inspector Morse.

In this week's episode of London's Burning, Hyper and Dan ( Brad Gorton) risk their lives in a bid to rescue a girl trapped in a boat following an explosion.

A new series is being filmed later this year and Connor is in training to help him cope better with the show's physical demands.

He says: " I've been amazed at how exhausting it is. I've never done anything so difficult before and I was on my knees with tiredness. You have to be very fit for dancing but this was different. There is a lot of pumping, running and sheer physical slog. I'm doing loads of running and swimming so I should be in great shape for the next series".

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