Big Yin to bow out in emotional Christmas TV special
Showbiz royalty will bid him ‘farewell’ after 60yrs
HIS performing career has taken him from the clubs of Glasgow to international stardom.
Now his A-list celebrity fans will pay tribute to Scots comedian Sir Billy Connolly in his last television special.
The hour-long programme, due to bee broadcast by ITV next month, will includee the 77-year- old reflecting on his life fromm his home in Florida.
It will also feature footage of performancess f rom the 1970s and 80s and f arewell messages from stars such as Oscar-winnng actor Dustin Hoffman, comedian Sir Lennyy Henry and musicians Sir Paul McCartneyy and Sir Elton John. Other emotional contri-butions come from actress Sheridan Smith,,
‘One that will be remembered for ever’
who confesses she named her son Billy after the comedian. It comes six months after Glasgow-born Sir Billy, known locally as the Big Yin, announced his retirement due to Parkinson’s disease.
Sir Lenny says: ‘To think we won’t be able to see a new idea pop into his mind while he’s doing something else and see one of his brilliant divergents, that’s going to be a loss. There aren’t many that leave a mark. He’s one of the ones that will be remembered for ever.’ The programme will also feature Sir Billy’s greatest stand-up moments and previously unseen footage recorded during his rise to US stardom.
Sir Paul says: ‘All of us will miss that fact that he’s not going to be performing.’
Interviews from early in Sir Billy’s career feature him describing his ambitions. He says: ‘My aims are to be funny. I’d like to think people leave a concert feeling different from when they arrived, that they felt an emotion they never felt before and laughed harder than they’ve ever laughed.
‘There’s a world of difference between a comedian and a joketeller. And the comedian plays an incredibly important role in society. He can spot the absurdity in something that’s just accepted.’
Sir Billy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, which damages parts of the brain that affect movement, in 2013. At the time, he told Sky News: ‘I’m finished with stand-up.
It was lovely and it was lovely being good at it. It was the first thing I was ever good at.’
He has also spoken about his discomfort at being invited to events aimed at Parkinson’s sufferers because he refuses to let the condition ‘define’ his life.
He said: ‘I’m always being asked to go to Parkinson’s things and spend time with Parkinson’s people, having lunch or something like that. I don’t approve of it. I don’t t hink you should l et
Parkinson’s define you and all your pals be Parkinson’s people.
‘I don’t think it’s particularly good for you. So I don’t do it.’
A trailer for the programme, which has yet to be completed, ends with comments from Hoffman, who says: ‘I want him to be around for a long, long time.’
Sir Billy also jokes: ‘I’ve changed my mind, I’m coming back’.
Billy Connolly: It’s Been A Pleasure is scheduled to air on December 30 at 9pm on ITV.