Jeremy Paxman has revealed he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s after a doctor watching him on TV thought he looked different.
The star – who announced last year that he had the progressive disorder – said the doctor spotted that he looked less “effusive and exuberant” than normal while he was presenting University Challenge.
Jeremy’s diagnosis came after he collapsed while he was walking his dog.
READ MORE: Amol Rajan confirmed as new University Challenge host as Jeremy Paxman quits
He ended up in A&E where the doctor told him he suspected he had Parkinson’s.
“It was completely out of the blue,” the broadcaster told The Guardian.
He went on: “I’d gone straight down on my hooter, which, as you can see, is not small. Cuts all over the place. I was a real mess. And when I was in A&E, a doctor walked in and said: ‘I think you’ve got Parkinson’s’.
“And it turned out that he had been watching University Challenge and had noticed that my face had acquired what’s known as the Parkinson’s mask.”
(Image: BBC)
The TV star announced in May last year that he had the illness, which the NHS says is “a condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years” and can cause involuntary shaking of particular parts of the body, slow movement and stiff and inflexible muscles.
He said in a statement at the time: “I can confirm I have recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
“I am receiving excellent treatment and my symptoms are currently mild.”
(Image: PA)
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The journalist and presenter said that he planned to continue broadcasting and writing “for as long as they’ll have me”.
This summer Jeremy said he was stepping down as the host of University Challenge after 28 years.
He said that he’d had “a blast” during his long run on the quiz show.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
