PETER Kay has shared a sad health update on his comedian pal Sir Billy Connolly amid his battle with Parkinson’s Disease.
The Phoenix Nights star, who recently opened up on his own health issues in a rare interview, has shed light on Billy‘s condition after the Scot was seen walking with a stick at an event last month.
Billy, 83, was diagnosed with Parkinson‘s in 2013 and moved from New York to Florida shortly afterwards, after doctors advised him to live in a warmer climate.
In conversation with Sarah Cox at an event held at Salford’s Lyric Theatre, Max and Paddy alum Peter, 52, said: “I still keep in touch with Billy Connolly now and he’s not so good now, but he would still message and that.
“I think a lot of comedians in this country would not be doing what they did if it weren’t for him.
“I think so much of it is influenced by him, heavily. Amazing.”
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Back in 2023, Peter gave a rare insight into his life and Billy’s influence on his career.
He talked of appearing on broadcaster Michael Parkinson‘s chat show and wrote in his book, TV: Big Adventures On The Small Screen: “Immediately I said yes, then I panicked when they told me who the line-up was going to be.
“David Beckham, Sir Michael Caine, Sir David Attenborough and Sir Billy Connolly. How could I be on with Billy Connolly?
“It’s Billy Connolly – he’s one of the best comedians there’s ever been.
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“Our styles aren’t that far apart. What to do?
“I’d have to try to think of some other way of being funny that didn’t tread on Billy’s toes.”
BILLY’S BATTLE
As well as his massively successful comedy career, Billy has appeared as an actor in more than 50 films including notable performances in Mrs Brown and The Last Samurai.
He announced his retirement from stand-up in 2018 but has continued to make TV documentaries.
He revealed his health diagnosis with the brain disorder – which can cause involuntary shaking and slow movement – 12 years ago.
He can now no longer play the banjo or smoke cigars, and previously admitted the way he hides his condition from his kids.
Everything you need to know about Parkinson’s
Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological condition, meaning that it causes problems in the brain and gets worse over time.
It affects around 153,000 people in the UK.
People with Parkinson’s don’t have enough of the chemical dopamine because some of the nerve cells that make it have stopped working.
This can cause a range of more than 40 symptoms, but the three main ones are:
- Tremor (shaking)
- Slow movement
- Rigidity (muscle stiffness)
Other common signs include:
- Mild memory and thinking problems
- Trouble sleeping
- Issues with balance
- Pain
- Anxiety and depression
- Shuffling walk with very small steps
- Difficulty making facial expressions
- Loss of sense of smell
- Problems peeing
- Constipation
The four main ways of managing Parkinson’s include medication, staying active, exploring occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech and language therapy, and monitoring symptoms.
Source: Parkinson’s UK and NHS
Last month, he appeared at the Key West Film Festival with a walking stick, which he said he was using because of his “horrible illness”.
He did not take to the stage but stood up from his seat to address the crowd after being presented with the award by Hollywood actors Steve Buscemi and Aidan Quinn.
He said: “I walk with a stick because I suffer from a horrible illness.
“It’s a joy to live among you and it’s a joy to be among you tonight. I don’t often do this kind of thing but it’s smashing.
“I have to thank you for this award. I don’t know what it is, it’s a blue thing.
“It’s a joy and it will go beside my other prizes.”
Showing he has lost none of his trademark humour, Connolly joked about the “f**king awful” trousers which he said his wife had dressed him in for the event.
The Glasgow-born comic was presented with the award before a screening to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Aristocrats, the film about the dirtiest joke ever told, in which he is featured.
PETER’S HEALTH
This week, Peter sat down with BBC Radio 2’s Sara Cox and shared more information about his own health and slimmer appearance.
Kay spoke about his ambition to lose weight and get fitter while promoting his latest book.
He said of his lengthy weight loss mission: “Only for the first 48 years of my life.
“Yeah, I had to eventually, because you start thinking about your health and things like that, don’t you?
“But I tried everything, flaming weight loss groups. I did quite well at one point.”
The stand-up also recalled trying his mum’s Rosemary Connolly fitness videos, but failing to keep up.
He later signed up to a David Lloyd gym in his hometown of Bolton, however this was short lived too – because of “men just talking to you naked”.
Monday nights also used to be taken up by an aerobic class, but the actor quickly swapped this out for “proper old school” training.
“Honestly it were awful I used tell him I needed a wee and I’d go and sit in toilet and sob because it were like proper old school,” he joked.
