Billy Connolly to return to TV seven months after retiring from stand-up due to Parkinson’s

Billy Connolly will return to television to front a new ITV documentary series about his travels in America, despite his Parkinson’s disease forcing him to retire from stand-up comedy last year.

According to The Sun, the beloved comic will host Billy Connolly’s Great American Trail, which will follow him as he replicates the route taken by Scottish immigrants who came to America in the early 18th century.

A source told the newspaper, “Billy admitted earlier this year that Parkinson’s was taking its toll and he could no longer cope with live performances. But after ITV producers offered him a new adventure in the US, where he has spent half his life living, he decided it was too good to miss.”

Earlier this year Connolly appeared on the BBC documentary series Made in Scotland, where he talked about his experiences since being diagnosed with the degenerative disease. “My life, it’s slipping away and I can feel it and I should,” he said. “I’m near the end. I’m a damn sight nearer the end than I am the beginning. But it doesn’t frighten me, it’s an adventure and it is quite interesting to see myself slipping away.”

Billy Connolly’s Great American Trail will reportedly be broadcast this autumn.