Michael Jackson added a new plot twist to his lurid legal soap opera yesterday by checking himself into hospital en route to his trial on child molestation charges. The judge later told the court the entertainer had flu and suspended jury selection, already in its third week, until next Tuesday.

The move brought another touch of melodrama to a case that has already had its fill of it. Mr Jackson’s lawyer, Thomas Messereau, initially told the court his client was “very, very ill”, triggering a flurry of media speculation about what was wrong with the 45-year-old “King of Pop”.

A Fox News presenter who interviewed him a few days ago suggested he had been suffering from a throat infection, and several observers noted he had been sniffling in court on Monday.

Mr Messereau said his client had left his Neverland ranch in central California as scheduled, but instead of driving to the courthouse in Santa Maria, in time for the 8.30am opening of business, headed for the Marian Medical Centre. Mr Jackson presented himself at the casualty ward and was later admitted, according to Judge Rodney Melville.

The pool of 112 potential jurors, along with the vast retinue of lawyers, journalists and fans arrayed at the courthouse, were left unsure for two hours if they should leave or see if Mr Jackson might still show up.

His lawyers, meanwhile, raised eyebrows by presenting a roster of potential defence witnesses that read more like a who’s who of Mr Jackson’s friends in the entertainment industry than the kind of people who could rebut specific charges concerning the singer’s relationship with the cancer-stricken 12-year-old at the heart of the case. The list included Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Elizabeth Taylor, the producer Quincy Jones, the illusionist David Blaine and the basketball star Kobe Bryant. Judge Melville expressed scepticism about how many of these people he would allow to take the stand, and legal experts questioned how many of them could really help the defence’s cause.

Kobe Bryant was recently tried for the alleged rape of an employee at a luxury hotel in Colorado. Even though the case collapsed, legal analysts said the association would not be helpful to Mr Jackson as he seeks to fend off charges of his own sexual misconduct.