Meldrum reportedly close to being paralysed in accident

Entertainment legend Molly Meldrum has revealed he came within mere millimetres from being paralysed in his fall in Thailand last week.

While Meldrum initially felt well enough to attempt to leave hospital 7 News reporter Nick McCallum has obtained exclusive detail during his almost one week stay with the TV personality.

“The incident dislodged a vertebra and went awfully close to actually really damaging his spine," McCallum said.

"According to doctors it's something like 6 millimetres from actually cutting off the spine, cutting off the nerve."

McCallum has been over in Thailand interviewing Meldrum in the days following the shocking accident, even returning to the scene of the fall with the still-wheelchair bound star.

"The doctor we spoke to said he was very very lucky this incident didn't actually leave him paralysed," he said.

"What actually happened, last Monday night he was walking across the road from his hotel, a tuk tuk, one of the local taxi bikes came in front of him. He stepped back and fell backwards over a gutter and landed very heavily on the footpath."

It was initially thought that Meldrum only suffered a “dislocated shoulder and a couple of fractured ribs.”

“There 's twists and turns and all that sort of stuff and now he is back in hospital, but it looks as though what he is back in hospital for is for the complications from the dislocated shoulder, so he is a mess," Nick McCallum told 3AW.

Molly's exclusive interview with 7 News reporter Nick McCallum on 7 News at 6pm.