Sir Billy Connolly says Celtic races 'need that fiery liquid' and suggests his Irish-Scottish heritage is a factor in his drinking problems as he opens up on 40 years sober
- The retired stand-up comedian was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2013
Sir Billy Connolly has revealed that despite having been sober for over 40 years, the 81-year-old Scottish comedian still has to be careful round booze, particularly at breakfast time.
The retired stand-up comedian, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2013 and retired from live performances in 2018, said that a specialty porridge with a boozy twist, that's he'd unknowingly ordered, almost threw him off the wagon.
Speaking to the Mirror, the actor said that he ordered the breakfast item while stay at a hotel in Arran in the Cylde at a time when he'd already stopped drinking for about a year, but candidly admitted that he was 'still missing it'.
He continued: 'So I was waiting for my porridge royale, wondering what it included, and when it came, I had a spoonful - and it was porridge made with whisky!'
The musician said that every nerve on his body went, 'get it down you,' before the comedian came to his senses and realised that he would have to opt for an booze-free breakfast or he would be back for more.
![The retired stand-up comedian said that a specialty porridge with a boozy twist, that's he'd unknowingly ordered, almost threw him off the wagon](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/08/02/80996681-0-image-a-62_1707358335424.jpg)
The retired stand-up comedian said that a specialty porridge with a boozy twist, that's he'd unknowingly ordered, almost threw him off the wagon
![The 81-year-old, who grew up in Glasgow, attributes his relationship with booze to his Celtic heritage owed to his Irish and Scottish ancestry](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/08/02/80996773-13059223-image-m-76_1707359190150.jpg)
The 81-year-old, who grew up in Glasgow, attributes his relationship with booze to his Celtic heritage owed to his Irish and Scottish ancestry
Speaking about his past behaviour under the influence of alcohol, the comedian admitted that he once almost caused a bus to crash over a cliff, nearly killing Sir Michael Caine, after a particularly heavy session of boozing during a 'crazy night in Saint Lucia'.
Thinking it would be funny, Connolly covered the driver's eyes, which almost send the bus over the edge, before Caine intervened.
The 81-year-old, who grew up in Glasgow, attributes his relationship with booze to his Celtic heritage owed to his Irish and Scottish ancestry.
He told The Mirror: '[Celtic races have] got a want - a need - for that fiery liquid'.
The comedy legend has previously penned details of his drinking sessions, admitting that alcohol played a 'central role' in his life, 'in keeping with Glaswegian culture in the 1960s'.
![Sir Billy Connolly has revealed that despite having been sober for over 40 years, the 81-year-old Scottish comedian still has to be careful round booze](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/08/02/80996683-0-image-a-63_1707358342741.jpg)
Sir Billy Connolly has revealed that despite having been sober for over 40 years, the 81-year-old Scottish comedian still has to be careful round booze
He said that he neither he or his partner at the time, Iris, could see that they were 'overdoing it and heading for trouble'.
The Scottish star added: 'We were both drunks. Neither of us was happy. It’s amazing how you can kind of know something but don’t entirely admit it to yourself.
None of it was fair on the kids – I think they missed out. I was never there, which must have been very hard on Iris.
'I didn’t know how to be a good family man. With my difficult upbringing, I had never learned that. I was stumbling from disaster to disaster'.
't was around this time that the comedian met his current wife, Pamela Stephenson.