Robert – who stars alongside Reese Witherspoon in the forthcoming film Water for Elephants – narrowly escaped being crushed to death whilst trying to give the huge animal a bath.

A source said: ‘Robert slid right down the elephant’s back. It could have been a disaster – but he got lucky, landing face first in a pile of mud. He was filthy, but unharmed.“Everyone on the set cracked up – especially Reese, who was laughing so hard she couldn’t catch her breath.”

Robert Pattinson filming Water For Elephants:

Synopsis: “When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her. Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford.”