Billy Connolly shares candid admission about Parkinson's battle
Billy Connolly has shared his candid thoughts around death as he discussed his ongoing battle with Parkinson's.
The comedian and actor, 81, recalled how he was told to "confront his illness" after being diagnosed with Parkinson's and prostate cancer on the same day.
"You just confront it and make decisions based on it," he told The Mirror.
"You just have to think 'Don't think you are being badly treated [in life] or you have the bad pick of the straws. You are one of millions'."
"Then you then realise death is not the big thing everyone has made it out to be. It is nothing. It is just a sudden nothing."
Despite the dual diagnosis, Connolly reflected on the "funny week", as he said, "On the Monday, I had hearing aids. On the Tuesday I got pills for heart burn, which I have to take all the time, and on the Wednesday I got news that I had prostate cancer and Parkinson's."
The star then joked that he probably got the disease following his several appearances on Michael Parkinson's chat show, saying, "I just thought 'I have got Parkinson's. I wish he (Michael) had kept it to himself!' It was easy (making fun of it)."
Earlier this year, Billy issued a health update in which he said being sick feels "strange", telling GB News in February, "Being unwell is strange. Everybody else is OK and you've got this thing that's wrong... you're out of step."
Two years ago, ahead of receiving an award, he told Bafta.org he's determined to not let the condition "dictate" who he is and is determined to not let it get him down.
"It's really important to work, to draw, to write, to walk silly for your grandchildren," he said at the time.
"Doing the same thing you've always done is good for you. I don't let the Parkinson's dictate who I am – I just get on with it. I've had a very successful career and I have no regrets at all."
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