Billy Connolly and wife slam Michael Parkinson's claims: “He’s a daft old fart”
Billy Connolly and wife Pamela Stephenson have slammed UK TV host Michael Parkinson's claims Connolly can no longer recognise him.
According to The Telegraph, the Scottish comic refuted Parkinson's claim on Sunday that, the last time they saw each other, he wasn't sure if Connolly knew who he was or not.
Connolly was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2013 after a fan warned him his walk showed "distinct signs" of it. On the same day as his Parkinson's diagnosis, he also learnt he had prostate cancer, which he was later given the all-clear from.
In spite of the claims by Parkinson – that Connolly's "wonderful brain is dulled" – Connolly told The Telegraph his friend was mistaken.
"I would recognise Parky if he was standing behind me – in a diving suit," he said.
Connolly's wife, Kiwi Pamela Stephenson, also slammed the idea, posting a succinct rebuttal to Twitter:
"Mike Parkinson is a daft old fart – doesn't know what he's talking about. Billy's doing great and still funny as hell."
Producers working on TV projects with the Scottish comedian also denied Parkinson's description of Connolly.
"We have been busy filming with Billy over the summer and can report happily that he's on top form – as sharp and hilarious as ever," producers at Indigo Television said in a statement.
On Sunday, Parkinson – affectionately known as "Parky" in the UK, by those close to him and the wider public - told Saturday Morning with James Martin that Connolly's "wonderful brain has dulled".
"To know someone as long as I knew and loved Billy [...] it was an awful thing to contemplate, that [recognising a friend] had been taken from him in a sense," Parkinson said.
While he is best known as a stand-up comedian, Connolly has featured in a number of movies, including Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Brave and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.
Republished with permission of Stuff.co.nz.