Robbie: My panic over dad’s diagnosis
ROBBIE Williams has spoken of his “fear and panic” after his father Pete was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The former Take That singer said he has suffered a string of family problems during the coronavirus lockdown.
His mother-in-law Gwen is also living with a “big illness”, having previously been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and lupus.
Robbie, 46, said: “We’ve got a lot of family issues right now. My dad has got Parkinson’s, my mother-in-law who I love dearly has got a very big illness. We can’t get to them.
“My mum is just a year short of 80 and she’s in isolation and I can see the things whirling in her mind and her eyes going. We have a brand new baby Beau, four children in total.
“All of these things can cause fear and panic.
“I noticed at the start of the lockdown that I was going into fear.
“But the difference between me now as a middle-aged man and the person that I used to be, I thought, ‘That’s interesting. Tomorrow will be different.’
“And it was, whereas before I used to think that I’d feel that way for a decade.
“I’m talking about the riding of the wave, the acknowledgement that this is happening now, but this too will pass and tomorrow will be different.”
Robbie’s father, who has the stage name Pete Conway, is a singer and entertainer himself.
It is thought he had been planning to retire this year after telling fans his last appearance would be on June 20, a gig which has now been postponed.
Pete, 70, has joined Robbie on stage many times at concerts, and was due to be in Las Vegas with his son this summer as Rob played a series of shows.
But he is holed up instead at his home in Stoke-on-Trent.