Sir Billy Connolly has released a cheerful musical message assuring fans that he’s “not dead” after speaking candidly about death and living with Parkinson’s disease during a TV documentary.
The 76-year-old gave a frank update on his health during the BBC documentary Billy Connolly: Made in Scotland, in which he said: “My life, it’s slipping away and I can feel it and I should.”
However, in a less sombre video message posted online by his wife, Pamela Stephenson, Connolly is seen gleefully strumming a banjo and singing: “Not dying, not dead, not slipping away. Sorry if I depressed you. Maybe I should have phrased it better.”
Connolly was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative neurological condition, in 2013, and announced his retirement from touring last month.
In the documentary, he said: “I’m near the end. I’m a damn sight nearer the end than I am the beginning. But it doesn’t frighten me, it’s an adventure and it is quite interesting to see myself slipping away.
“And they all came one at a time and they just slipped away, thank you. It is like somebody is in charge of you and they are saying, ‘Right, I added all these bits when you were a youth, now it is time to subtract.’”
The second part of the documentary aired on BBC2 on Friday 4 January. Read The Independent’s review.
