Poignant moment comedian Billy Connolly forced to explain to bagpiper he has Parkinson's

Rebecca Speare-Cole13 September 2019
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

This is the poignant moment Billy Connolly had to explain he had Parkinson's to a bagpiper who asked if he was pretending to play the instrument.

During the Great American Trail, the comedian's latest TV show, Mr Connolly was speaking to a band he met in New Jersey.

In a clip from the show, one of the pipers spotted his hand shaking and asked if he played, adding: "I see your fingers going."

Mr Connolly made light of the moment, saying: "No, I've got Parkinson's. It's second best to playing the pipes."

Billy Connolly - In pictures

1/35

The Great American Trail centres on Mr Connolly travelling across America along the route that Scottish immigrants took when they arrived on the continent in 18th century.

While in New Jersey, he was speaking to a Scottish-style pipes and drums band when he explained his condition.

The show marks his comeback to TV after retiring from stand-up last year.

Mr Connolly was diagnosed with Parkinson's six years ago and has spoken several times about the impact the condition is having on his life.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in