William Shatner s**t his pants on stage and told fans he had a 'technical difficulty'

Star Trek actor William Shatner's newest book, Boldly Go, has allowed him the opportunity to tell fans stories of himself that were previously unknown.

And this is one story you really couldn't write.

He explained: "The first performance of Shatner’s World was an experience the likes of which I had never before encountered.

"Earlier in the day, I had woken up in all sorts of, shall we say, gastrointestinal distress. I was losing fluids and worse from every part of my body and was barely even able to imbibe water.

"Somehow, by the evening, I was able to pull myself together enough to physically get to the theatre, but I was not entirely sure I’d be able to go onstage.

"This was opening night. It was a packed house. The critics were waiting to write their reviews. What was I supposed to do?"

He continued: "Boldly, I took my place on the stage and attacked the material with panache. The response was terrific; the audience was eating it up.

"Then, about halfway through the show, disaster struck. In my pants."

"'Hold up,' I told the audience. ‘We seem to have a small technical difficulty. Please bear with us; I’ll be right back.'

"I raced off the stage and up the stairs to my dressing room."

Perhaps if the audience had known the real reason behind Shatner racing off stage, they probably would have forgiven him.

Well, he certainly wasn't going to disappoint them as he went back on stage, after a 'quick shower and a change of underwear later'.

He continued: "The rest of the show went without incident. To my great satisfaction, the reviews (which were great) didn’t even mention the ‘technical difficulty’ that had paused the show for 10 minutes.

"I performed Shatner’s World on Broadway for just under a month before taking the show on a national and later international tour."