ACTOR Gorden Kaye, star of the television series 'Allo 'Allo who

suffered head injuries when a piece of wood smashed through the

windscreen of his car during last Thursday's storms, was beginning to

regain consciousness in hospital a spokesman said yesterday.

Although he is still seriously ill, he was said to be breathing

unaided and appeared to be out of immediate danger.

Meanwhile, a number of fellow members of the cast left for Australia

for a three-month tour, following a decision to go ahead with the

production.

Australian actor Max Gillies is taking over Mr Kaye's role of cafe

owner Rene for the show, which opens at Sydney's State Theatre on

February 5.

Other members of the cast, who ended the show's run at the London

Palladium on Saturday, will be flying out over the next two days.

Mr Kaye was being kept artifically unconscious since he underwent five

hours of surgery at London's Charing Cross Hospital following the

accident and had been on a ventilator to give his brain a chance to

recover.

A spokesman for the Mark Furniss production company, which is

responsible for the show, said: ''He is beginning to regain

consciousness, which is a wonderful sign, and he is moving

spontaneously.

''That means if he has got an itch he is able to scratch it. His

nervous system is fine and he is aware of his surroundings.''

He said Mr Kaye's condition was ''serious, but stable'' and he was

breathing unaided. ''One can only presume he is now out of danger.''

He has had a number of visitors at the hospital, including several

members of the 'Allo 'Allo cast, among them his close friend and TV wife

Carmen Silvera.

Flowers, gifts, and get-well messages have been flooding in to the

hospital, which will be shown to Mr Kaye once he is fully conscious,

said the spokesman.

He added: ''We have also received some very touching telephone calls

from members of the public and the acting profession and these have been

noted and will be passed on to him.''

Alison Griffin, a spokeswoman for the stage show, said that they were

going ahead with the Austrialian tour after deciding it was what the

actor would want.

''He is very professional and would be furious if we cancelled the

tour on his account.''