Comedian Peter Kay has given fans a sombre update on the health of comedy legend Sir Billy Connolly, 15 years after his Parkinson's disease diagnosis.
A Health Update from a Comedy Peer
Speaking to a crowd at Salford's Lowry Theatre, the 52-year-old Bolton-born star shared his ongoing contact with the Scottish icon. "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," Kay revealed. The interview, conducted by Sara Cox for a Radio 2 special, has recently been released on BBC Sounds.
Sir Billy, now 83, received his crushing Parkinson's diagnosis in 2013, the same week he learned he had early-stage prostate cancer. He retired from touring in 2018. While successful surgery eliminated the cancer, Parkinson's is an incurable, degenerative neurological disorder.
The initial signs appeared when Connolly began forgetting lines during performances. His health has since declined, with "a couple of serious falls" leading to the use of a walking stick and sometimes a wheelchair.
Connolly's Own Reflections and Resilience
In an update via his October 2024 book, The Accidental Artist, Sir Billy wrote: "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 described Parkinson's as something that "just rumbles along, doing its thing."
Reflecting on his past as a welder in Glasgow's shipyards, he considered himself fortunate. "I'm a lucky bugger. I survived a lot of s**t... Maybe what doesn't kill you f**ks you up for life but at least I'm still here," he wrote, adding that he now enjoys fishing in Florida, where he moved for the warmer climate on doctors' advice.
Despite his retirement from stand-up, Connolly has built a new career as an artist and continued recording TV programmes, including 2018's Billy Connolly: Made In Scotland.
Peter Kay's Personal Struggle with Binge Eating
In the same wide-ranging conversation, Peter Kay opened up about his lifelong battle with his weight and a binge-eating disorder (BED). He detailed joining slimming groups like Slimming World and WeightWatchers, and a poignant moment of weakness.
He described sneaking out during a cinema trip to eat a hot dog, seeing his reflection in a poster for the film Babe, and feeling ashamed. "I then admitted to throwing it in the bin, but then snatching it back before it hit the bin liner and still eating it," he confessed, highlighting the condition's compulsive nature.
Kay also recalled his childhood, where his mother hid biscuits in the tumble dryer to keep them from him. Recent data suggests approximately 748,000 individuals in the UK have BED, with around 50% of those being men.
The NHS defines binge eating disorder as a serious mental health condition involving eating large amounts of food in a short time without feeling in control.
