‘I don’t think I’ve got that long’: Billy Connolly says the end is near

The legendary Glaswegian comic retired from the stage, following Parkinson's diagnosis

In a candid recent interview comedy legend Billy Connolly confessed he feels close to death, and thinks about it "quite a lot".

Sir William Connolly was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2013, “I don’t think I’ve got that long”, he said to The Times.

"I don’t want to be a comedian you feel sorry for”, said the performer who has chosen to remain off the stage as he doesn't feel comfortable with the symptoms of the disease showing.

"There’s an American boy who says, ‘Shaking is the new cool.’ He’s got it on a T-shirt. And bless him, but I don’t want to do it," said Connolly.

In 2019, the Glaswegian comic announced his poignant, provocative last tour The Sex Life of Bandages, in which he joked about the disease “Drooling has taken over my life,” he mused. “It’s so unattractive.” The Sydney Opera House date of the final tour was released as a film.

Connolly explained how his condition is getting worse. “Nothing’s working,” he said, revealing that his condition is affecting his mood. "I’m having a bit of a sad time”. The comic has tried alternative treatments to curb symptoms of the brain disorder, which causes shaking, stiffness, affects balance and causes difficulty walking.

Some research suggests Cannabis helps: “but I get bombed out of my head", said Connolly on trying the remedy in Florida, where he now lives and there is a Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act. "I don’t like it. My daughter bought me cigarettes with CBD. It helped a little, but not enough to write home about.”

Voted "most influential comedian of all time" in a 2012 poll, the comic also received a special recognition National Television Award in 2016, and was knighted in 2017.

People usually live between 10 and 20 years after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, but Connolly doesn’t fear death “at all.”

Ahead of the launch of this new TV show he said: "Talking about Parkinson’s, it’s depressing. It’s just a fact of life, it’s in me and I deal with it.” 

Billy Connolly: It’s Been A Pleasure airs on ITV on 28 December and features chats celebrity fans Sir Paul McCartney, Whoopi Goldberg, Sir Lenny Henry, Sir Elton John, Dustin Hoffman, Russell Brand, Sheridan Smith and Aisling Be. Plus, lots of personal footage of The Big Yin himself, filmed at his US home, where he like walking his dogs, barbeques and fishing in his slippers.