Robbie Williams reveals his father has Parkinson's disease as he describes 'fear and panic' for relatives during lockdown

Robbie Williams has stayed in LA with his wife during the pandemic
Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images
Ewan Somerville23 May 2020
The Weekender

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Robbie Williams has revealed his father has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

The singer, 46, who is self-isolating at his Los Angeles home with wife Ayda Field and their four children, said he had been suffering “fear and panic” while his 70-year-old father is in the UK.

“We’ve got a lot of family issues right now,” he told the Mirror. “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 dad is thousands of miles away.”

Williams added: “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.”

The singer is self-isolating in LA
Getty Images

The X Factor judge, who has been open about his mental health battles, said he has learned to deal with his problems in a healthier way.

He said: “I noticed at the start of the lockdown that I was going into fear.

Robbie Williams said he had been living in fear and unable to reach his dad
Getty Images

"But the difference between me now and the person I used to be… I saw it, thought ‘That’s interesting – tomorrow will be different’. And it was.”

Former Take That star Williams has often been joined on stage by his father Peter, who is also a singer.

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects a sufferer’s movement, often including tremors.

According to the NHS, around 1 in 500 people are affected by Parkinson’s disease.

Most people with Parkinson’s start to develop symptoms when they are over 50, though many first experience symptoms before the age of 40.

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