Billy Connolly Apologises For Depressing Fans About His Health In Brilliant Video

Sir Billy Connolly is one of Britain's finest exports, and arguably the greatest observational comic of all time.

As such, it comes as no surprise that fans were disheartened to hear Connolly's dire evaluations of his own health in recent BBC documentary, Made in Scotland.

In a bid to do what he does best and put smiles on faces, the 76-year-old has shared a video in which he apologises for depressing people while playing a banjo.

In the video, shared on Twitter by his wife Pamela Stephenson, he says: "Not dying, not dead, not slipping away.

"Sorry if I depressed you, maybe I should have phrased it better."

The perky little ditty comes after fans were left teary-eyed by the two-part documentary, which aired on BBC Two and saw Connolly reflect on his career, as well as his life with Parkinson's disease.

PA

In the documentary, Connolly said: "My Parkinson's is not going to go away and it's going to get worse.

"My life is slipping away and I can feel it, and I should. I'm near the end. I'm a damn sight nearer the end than I am the beginning.

"There is no denying it, I have got Parkinson's and I am at the wrong end of the telescope of life. I am at the point where the yesteryears mean more than the yesterdays."

He continued: "As bits slip off and leave me, talents leave and attributes leave. I don't have the balance I used to have, I don't have the energy I used to have. I can't hear the way I used to hear, I can't see as good as I used to. I can't remember the way I used to remember. 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.'"

However, the much-loved entertainer explained that he is not scared by the prospect of death.

He said: "It doesn't frighten me, it's an adventure and it is quite interesting to see myself slipping away."

Glasgow-born Connolly made his name after appearing on the BBC's chat show Parkinson in 1975, shortly after transitioning from folk singer to fully-fledged comedian.

He went on to become one of the UK's best-loved entertainers, appearing in a raft of TV series and films on both sides of the Atlantic, including Indecent Proposal, Muppet Treasure Island and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

Topics: Celebrity, Comedy, UK Entertainment

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey