Mel Gibson was in hospital with coronavirus in April

Actor's stay in hospital lasted at least a week, but he has since recovered

Australian actor Mel Gibson was admitted to hospital in April after contracting coronavirus, it has emerged.

A representative for the 64-year-old Braveheart star confirmed to The Daily Telegraph Australia that Gibson had been in private hospital care for at least one week. He has since tested negative for the virus several times.

“He tested positive in April and spent a week in the hospital,” said Gibson’s rep, who also revealed that Gibson had been treated with the drug Remdesivir while in hospital.

“[He] has tested negative numerous times since then as well as positive for the antibodies,” they continued.

Gibson is the latest celebrity to have been reported as contracting the virus, which can be deadly.

Tom Hanks, Idris Elba, Quantum of Solace star Olga Kurylenko, Plácido Domingo, Jackson Browne, and P!nk are among the many well-known faces to have caught Covid-19.

Several stars, including legendary songwriter John Prine, broadway actor Nick Cordero, playwright Terrance McNally and Fountains of Wayne musician Adam Schlesinger, have died as a result of complications caused by coronavirus.

Gibson was at the centre of a controversy last month, when actor Winona Ryder alleged that Gibson referred to her as an “oven dodger”, in an anti-semitic reference to her Jewish heritage.

A representative for Gibson denied the allegations, stating that they were “100 per cent untrue” and accused Ryder of continuously lying about the encounter.