Billy Connelly opens up about how he’s coping with Parkinson’s

We’re used to seeing Bill Connolly laughing and making us laugh along with him.

But in his latest appearance, in a documentary about his 50 years in showbiz, there’s little to laugh about when he talks about his battle with Parkinson’s Disease.

The frail comedian, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s three-and-a-half years ago, opens up in the ITV documentary Billy Connolly & Me: A Celebration.

In his usual frank nature, he addresses how the condition is changing his life and how he’s coping with it.

“I’ve got Parkinson’s Disease.. and I wish to f*** he’d kept it to himself,” Connolly tells the documentary, according to the Daily Record.

But all jokes aside, it’s having a big impact on his life.

Because Connolly shakes so bad down his left side, he’s no longer able to play the banjo.

“It’s a weird thing because it stopped me playing the banjo and it stopped me smoking cigars,” he says.

“It seems to creep up on everything I like and take it away from me. It’s like being tested: ‘Cope with that, cope with life without your banjo. Now I’m going to make your hand shake so you can’t tie your fishing flies any more’.

“It’s weird. I’m trying to stay on the light side because the dark side is unthinkable.”

You might be wondering if the shaking ever stops?

Well, as Connolly tells the ITV documentary, it only stops when he’s in bed – and on stage he doesn’t pay it much attention.

“I perform in spite of it. That’s why I put on the song A Whole Lot of Shakin’ Goin’ On – just to stick two fingers up to it,” he says.

“The only time it stops is when I’m in bed and then I can’t roll over. I’m like a big log. It’s the first thing I think about in the morning because getting out of bed is quite hard.”

Last month the comedy legend made headlines with an emotional plea for support for people with dementia as part of Comic Relief.

Have you or someone you’ve known had Parkinson’s Disease? How did they struggle and cope with their health?