Billy Connolly gives rare insight into how ‘cruel’ Parkinson’s changed life

Billy Connolly gave a rare insight this week into what it’s like to struggle with Parkinson’s and how his life has changed since being struck down by the “cruel” disease. The 80-year-old comedian has noticed a “deterioration” in his balance, which led to him breaking his hip – and he despondently told all about how it’s affected his daily activities. “It’s just added to the list of things that hold me back. I feel like I want to go for a walk, but I go for 50 yards and I want to go home, because I’m tired,” he shared in a new interview with wife Paula, published in The Guardian . “I’m being encroached upon by this disease. It’s creeping up behind me and stopping me doing things. It’s a cruel disease.” Billy made light of his heartbreaking plight by referencing a time when he’d also broken his jaw, and chuckling that it reminded him one of his on-stage jokes. “I used to say: ‘I fell out of bed, but luckily my face broke my fall,'” he quipped. Billy Connolly has opened up about the heartbreaking impact of Parkinson’s disease (Image: GETTY) Billy added that numerous symptoms have come and gone over time and that it wasn’t until a year ago that his balance began to seriously deteriorate. His shaking has “reappeared” recently and he now struggles to get in and out of “certain chairs”. The condition has made it difficult for him to indulge in drawing, as the shakes cause “wriggly lines”, but he’s revealed he’s still happy with the artwork he creates. Despite his increasing struggles, Billy was also able to release an autobiography in 2021, titled Windswept and Interesting, which detailed the trials and tribulations of growing up in poverty in inner-city Glasgow and suffering abuse. Billy Connolly has told of how he’s had multiple falls after his balance deteriorated (Image: GETTY) Meanwhile, he has also credited Pamela – his second wife, to whom he has been married to for almost 35 years – with taking care of him throughout his health battle. “I never thought that you’d be able to look after me the way you do. I thought it would annoy you terribly,” he told her, sharing his gratitude that she’d “rallied round”. Billy’s condition has forced him to retire from live performance, a sad decision which he announced in 2020 . He told Sky News : “I’m finished with stand-up [even though] it was lovely and it was lovely being good at it. Billy Connolly with Pamela, his wife for almost three and a half decades (Image: GETTY) “I get upset because certain things go wrong with you, your brain goes adrift, and it affects your body… you walk differently, you walk like a drunk man sometimes, and you’re frightened you’ll be judged on it.” Parkinson’s is a generative brain disorder which causes those living with the condition to struggle to control their movements due to a loss of nerve cells. The NHS website explains that “parts of the brain become progressively damaged” over the years, causing not just shaking but stiff muscles and slowed movement. Fortunately, the website adds that, thanks to advances in treatment options, those with the condition can go on to have “a normal or near-normal life expectancy”.