Kitty Chrisp
Published December 2, 2025 12:32pm
Updated December 2, 2025 12:32pm
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Billy Connolly was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013 (Picture: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)
Peter Kay has updated fans on fellow comedian Sir Billy Connolly’s health 15 years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The beloved Scottish actor, 83, retired from touring in 2018, five years after the crushing diagnosis, which came on the same day he also found out he had early-stage prostate cancer.
While Sir Billy was given the all-clear following successful surgery to remove the cancer, Parkinson’s is an incurable and degenerative neurological disorder.
His 2013 diagnosis came after Sir Billy noticed he was forgetting lines in performances, and his health has since deteriorated.
While talking about meeting his heroes, the Bolton-born comedian, 52, told a crowd at Salford’s Lowry Theatre: ‘I met Billy Connolly. I still keep in touch with Billy Connolly now and he’s not so good now, but he would still message and that.
Peter Kay said Connolly is not doing too well at the moment (Picture: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
The musician was diagnosed with prostate cancer and Parkinson’s on the same day (Picture: Michael Putland/Getty Images)
‘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,’ Peter reflected while being interviewed by Sara Cox as part of a Radio 2 special a few months ago.
The recording of the live evening has just dropped on BBC Sounds for people to enjoy.
Having suffered ‘a couple of serious falls’ leading him to using a walking stick and sometimes a wheelchair, Sir Billy offered an update to fans in October 2024 via his book The Accidental Artist.
‘I got diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and prostate cancer the same week. I got treated for the cancer, and now I seem to be ok,’ he wrote.
What is Parkinson's disease?
As per the NHS, Parkinson’s disease is a condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years.
The main symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are:
- stiff and inflexible muscles
- involuntary shaking of particular parts of the body (tremor)
- slow movement
Parkinson’s disease is caused by a loss of nerve cells in part of the brain called the substantia nigra. This leads to a reduction in a chemical called dopamine in the brain.
‘The Parkinson’s just rumbles along, doing its thing. It bothered me for a while, but when I think about it, I suppose I’m lucky I didn’t get something worse because I was a welder.’
Sir Billy went on to explain that when he worked in the shipyards, hazards relating to asbestos exposure weren’t known, and accidents were frequent.
The TV star and musician was in an accident himself, when he ‘fell off the ship into the Clyde, dropped 40 feet into three feet of water and broke [his] ankle’.
He reflected: ‘I’m a lucky bugger. I survived a lot of s**t – much of it brought on by myself.
‘I probably shouldn’t have escaped, but I did. Maybe what doesn’t kill you f**ks you up for life but at least I’m still here. I’m fishing happily in Florida and I’m not yet dead or broken.’
Sir Billy retired from touring five years after his diagnosis (Picture: Getty Images)
Sir Billy – who has made a name for himself as an artist since quitting stand-up – moved to Florida after previously living in New York, with doctors advising him to live in a warmer climate.
He made a rare public appearance in August 2025, to unveil four new limited edition art works under his Born On A Rainy Day series.
Sir Billy has continued to record TV programmes since his retirement, with his most recent projects including shows such as 2018’s Billy Connolly: Made In Scotland, Billy Connolly’s Great American Trail in 2019, and Billy Connolly Does…, which began airing in 2022.
Elsewhere in the conversation, comedian Peter revealed his eating disorder and attempts to lose weight over his life, as he unveiled his new trim figure in January following a five-year absence.
‘I tried everything. Good God in heaven. I mean, you go to flaming weight-loss groups and stuff like that. I joined Slimming World and WeightWatchers. I did all of them,’ he said.
He then opened up about sneaking out of a cinema and pretending to pop to the loo while watching The Green Mile with his wife, so he could eat. This prompted him to realise he had an issue with binge-eating.
Binge-eating disorders (BED)
The NHS website explains: ‘Binge eating disorder involves regularly eating a lot of food over a short period of time until you’re uncomfortably full. It’s a serious mental health condition where people eat without feeling like they’re in control of what they’re doing.’
The site explains that men and women of any age can get binge eating disorder, but it often starts when people are in their 20s or older.
Recent data suggests that around 3.4 million people in the UK have an eating disorder. Among these, approximately 22% are affected by Binge Eating Disorder (BED), translating to roughly 748,000 individuals. 50% of those with BED are men. Which means around 374,000 men are facing BED right now.
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Previous Page Next PageHe said: ‘I was doing really well with this diet, but I’m so bad with willpower. I had this hot dog and I caught a glimpse of myself reflected in, ironically, a framed poster for Babe.
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‘I thought, look at you – what are you doing? You’re doing really well on this diet, you should be ashamed of yourself.’
He then admitted to throwing it in the bin, but then snatching it back before it hit the bin liner and still eating it.
Peter also spoke about his early childhood, where his mother would bring him pies to school to eat, and would hide biscuits from her son.
‘She used to hide the biscuits in our house, but I knew where she’d hid them. I used to have me mates round for a brew and I’d reach inside the tumble drier and get a packet of digestives out, like it was normal,’ he said.
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