Comedian Billy Connolly has opened up about living with Parkinson’s, heartbreakingly saying the illness will “end him”.
Billy, 78, reflects about his life and impressive career in new TV show, Billy Connolly: It’s Been A Pleasure.
With typically dry humour, the star talks of his 2013 diagnosis saying: “I’ve got Parkinson’s disease. I wish he’d f****** kept it.”
Billy aded to The Mirror : “It was obvious from my movement, that I wasn’t who I used to be. And so I had to explain it.. just to say that I am not defined by it.
“It’s got me and it will get me and it will end me but that’s OK with me.
Billy Connolly says Parkinson’s will be the end of him (Image: EMPICS Entertainment)
“I started low and I ended high. Just staying up there, until it is time to stop, seems a natural and good thing to do. It is a good thing to be proud of, I wanted to be a funnyman and I got it.”
Billy continued: “It’s been a pleasure talking to you all those years.
“From the beginning when I was a folkie, right through, I couldn’t have done anything without you. You have been magnificent.”
Bilyl’s career started in 1971 and eventually earned him a knighthood from Her Majesty The Queen in 2013.
Sadly, Billy says he has now accepted he will never do a live show ever again.
The actor said: “I’ve done my stand-up. I did it for 50 years. I did it quite well. And it is time to stop.
Billy says he will never be able to perform again (Image: ITV)
“My illness, my Parkinson’s disease, has rendered me different. It would either mean renewing what I do and doing something else, or give up what I did and that’s what I’ve done.
“Why do I like to make people laugh? Because it is a jolly thing, it is good for you and it is good for them. It is a dynamite thing to be able to do, to get a laugh out of someone.”
Billy Connolly: It’s Been A Pleasure, ITV, Monday, December 28 at 9.30pm
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
