'The Chase' star Paul Sinha felt 'relief' at Parkinson's diagnosis

Paul Sinha has said he was relieved when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s as it meant he could “own it”.

The Chase star announced in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with the disease at the age of 49.

He told 5 News that his first symptom was a stiff shoulder so people thought it was an orthopaedic issue, so getting diagnosed took a while.

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When he found out it was Parkinson’s “there was a slight sense of relief that I could get on with my life because I knew that something was going horribly wrong”.

He went on: “When you start walking with a limp, you know that something’s wrong and it was more of a sense of relief of, ‘Now that I know what it is, I can sort of own it’.”

Sinha – who is known as The Sinnerman on the game show - said it also made him not want to waste any time.

“I see life very differently from before the diagnosis,” he said.

“Before the diagnosis I was trundling along.

“Now there’s a sense of urgency to just get things done, although I consider myself quite fortunate to not really have a bucket list as such.

“I mean, I’ve been to all the places that I really really really want to go, I’ve done the things I really really really want to do. For me now, it’s more in a broader sense enjoying life, embracing life and enjoying the company of great people.”

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According to the NHS website, Parkinson’s is a condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years. Symptoms include involuntary shaking of particular parts of the body, slow movement and stiff and inflexible muscles.

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