Robert Hardy withdraws from Churchill role in Helen Mirren play 26 February 2013 Last updated at 07:45 Veteran actor Robert Hardy has pulled out of a West End play in which he was to have played Winston Churchill opposite Dame Helen Mirren's The Queen. The 87-year-old was left with cracked ribs after suffering a fall and has "reluctantly decided to stand down," according to producers of The Audience. "That he feels unable to continue is a great sadness to us all," said Stephen Daldry, the play's director. Hardy's understudy, David Peart, will play Churchill until further notice. Producers are actively looking for an actor to replace Hardy, who has previously played Churchill seven times. He performed at all of last week's preview performances at London's Gielgud Theatre despite his injury. "For him to have accepted this challenge at his age speaks of his courage and commitment to the theatre," said Daldry, who wished the highly respected actor and Harry Potter star "a return to full health and strength very soon." The Audience, which has its official opening night on 5 March, sees Dame Helen revisit her Oscar-winning role as Queen Elizabeth II. Peter Morgan's play depicts the weekly meetings between The Queen and some of the 12 Prime Ministers of her reign, among them Harold Wilson, Margaret Thatcher and John Major.