Legendary Australian comedian Barry Humphries continues to recover in a Sydney hospital, contrary to reports he is in an unresponsive state.
The 89-year-old behind characters such as Dame Edna has suffered complications from hip replacement surgery in recent months, with his health worsening in the past week.
His publicist, Wendy Day, denied reports on Friday morning that Humphries had become unresponsive.
She told AAP his condition was unchanged since the previous day and he was resting as doctors continue to look after him.
Media outlets on Friday cited an ABC report that he was unresponsive.
Sunrise entertainment reporter Peter Ford said doctors began increasing morphine levels on Thursday night as Humphries‘ pain worsened, which he speculated could have led to him becoming unresponsive.
He was admitted to hospital in Sydney on Wednesday, and while there were serious concerns about what came next, he was under great care, Ford said.
“Barry has a fighting spirit and he’s not going to give up easily.”
Humphries, born and raised in Melbourne, has delighted and outraged audiences for decades as an entertainer and man of a million masks – his most famous, Dame Edna.
The comedian was last year touring the UK with his show “The Man Behind the Mask”.
