LOS ANGELES — Production of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was cancelled this week as the top-rated US late-night television host recovers from surgery for a ruptured appendix, the CBS program announced on Monday (Nov 27).

The news came in a brief statement posted on the show's official feed on the social media platform Threads, presented as a message from Colbert himself in his signature tongue-in-cheek style, jokingly hinting at Thanksgiving over-indulgence.

"Sorry to say that I have to cancel our shows this week. I’m sure you’re thinking, 'Turkey overdose, Steve? Gravy boat capsize?' Actually, I’m recovering from surgery for a ruptured appendix," he wrote.

Colbert, 59, goes on to express gratitude to his doctors for their care and to his wife, Evie, and their children "for putting up with me", adding, "Going forward, all emails to my appendix will be handled by my pancreas."

No details were offered about when he fell ill and underwent surgery, how long he was hospitalised, or whether he has yet been discharged. His representatives did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for further details.

Cancellation of this week's shows marked the second disruption of Colbert's production schedule since his show, taped before a live audience in the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan, returned to the airwaves in early October following settlement of a prolonged strike by the Writers Guild of America.

Colbert, the most watched host on US late-night television for several straight years, hosted one episode from his home last month after testing positive for Covid-19 before the rest of that week's instalments were canceled, according to Hollywood trade paper Variety.

Among the guest celebrities and performers who had been due to appear on the show this week were actress Jennifer Garner, director Baz Luhrmann, former Late Show band leader Jon Batiste, actor Patrick Stewart, singer-actress Barbra Streisand and actor Kelsey Grammer, Variety reported.

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Source: Reuters