Billy Connolly health: 'I don’t like that’ Comedian, 76, takes swipe at Michael Parkinson

Sir Billy Connolly, 76, whose documentary Billy Connolly: Made In Scotland airs tonight on BBC Two, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease back in 2012.

And earlier this year, Sir Michael Parkinson, 83, claimed Sir Billy had a “dulled brain”.

Sir Billy hit out at his reports at the time and now, the comedian has revealed Sir Michael never got in touch to apologise.

He told Radio Times: “These Yorkshiremen, I don’t think they apologise much.”

Sir Billy continued: “I wasn’t disappointed, it just made my life a bit difficult.

“People feeling sorry for me, I don’t like that.”

He added: “They read about me in the papers and think, ‘Oh, he’s not well.’ They’re right, but I’m not as bad as they think I am.

“He should get on with selling funerals and leave me alone.”

During an appearance on Saturday Morning with James Martin in August, Sir Michael spoke about his concerns for his friend.

He told the chef: “The sadness of Billy now is that wonderful brain is dulled.

“I saw him recently – he’s now living in America – and it was very sad, because I was presenting him with a prize at an award ceremony.”

The star explained he and Billy had dined together, before admitting he found some of the conversation “awkward”.

He continued: “We had an awkward dinner together, because I wasn’t quite sure if he knew who I was or not.

He said to me, ‘How long we known each other?’ I thought, oh god, he doesn’t really know me.”

Sir Michael explained how he had been affected by the prospect of the disease impacting on his friend’s brain.

He admitted: “To know someone as long as I knew and loved Billy… it was an awful thing to contemplate, that that had been taken from him in a sense.”

After his claims, Sir Billy and his wife Pamela Stephenson responded with the Scottish star telling The Telegraph: “I would recognise Parky if he was standing behind me — in a diving suit.”

His wife of 29 years, Pamela, 68, also took to Twitter to hit back at Sir Michael’s comments and said: “Mike Parkinson is a daft old f**t — doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“Billy’s doing great and still funny as hell,” she added.

Billy Connolly: Made in Scotland airs tonight on BBC Two at 9pm.

source: express.co.uk