Arise Sir Billy? I feared I would never get up says ailing comic
COMEDIAN Sir Billy Connolly admits his biggest fear when receiving a knighthood was whether he would be able to stand up again after kneeling before the Duke of Cambridge.
The Glasgow-born star, 75, who has also enjoyed a successful acting career, revealed in 2013 he was being treated for Parkinson’s disease, which is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system.
He was knighted at Buckingham Palace last year and said being given the honour, which included being tapped on the shoulders with a ceremonial sword, was “a bit nerve-racking”.
Rude
In an interview with the Radio Times this week he said: “You don’t want to make an arse of it. You think, ‘Oh God, don’t trip’ or worry you might make a rude noise. Since I’ve got Parkinson’s, I’m a bit dodgy getting down on one knee. I don’t do it all that well. And then I had to walk backwards, but I managed it fine.
“I’m sure Prince William will think I’m a mentally ill person. I answered his questions in the most stupid fashion just through nerves.”
Sir Billy, who is married to psychologist Pamela Stephenson, will appear in the Sky Arts series Tate Britain’s Great Art Walks on April 17. He joins Gus Casely-Hayford on a walking tour inspired by English painter Stanley Spencer.
Sir Billy said: “I dislike people that write England off because they’re Scottish. It’s unfair and brutal.”