Sir Billy Connolly's "wonderful brain" has been "dulled" by Parkinson's disease, a UK TV host and friend of the comedian's has said.
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Sir Michael Parkinson said Sir Billy's condition had worsened so much that he recently didn't recognise him during an awards dinner the two were attending.
"To know someone as long as I knew and loved Billy, it was an awful thing to contemplate, that that had been taken from him in a sense," he said on his television show.
During the dinner, Sir Billy reportedly asked Sir Michael how long they had known each other.
The 75-year-old comedian was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2013, the same week he found out he had prostate cancer.
As well as a successful comedy career, Sir Billy also starred in a number of films including Peter Jackson's The Hobbit.
He was knighted last October for his services to entertainment and charity.
Parkinson's is a chronic neurological disorder, characterised by a deficiency of dopamine which causes tremors, slow movement, stiffness, and loss of balance.
Actor Michael J Fox and Muhammad Ali are among the celebrities with the disease.
Newshub.
