Who is Billy Connolly married to and what illness does he have?
Billy Connolly is making a welcome return to screens in Billy Connollys Great American Trail (Pictur..
Comedian Billy Connolly is back on screens tonight in the new ITV travel three-partner Billy Connollys Great American Trail.
The series sees the comic attempting to follow the migratory trail of the Scots through the US, kicking off with a trip to the Tartan Day parade in New York and continuing through to Plymouth, Massachusetts, as well as meeting with Native Americans with a story to tell.
The 76-year-olds return to TV was announced last month, with Billy having retired from stand-up comedy last year due to deteriorating health.
Its going to be welcome news for his fans who thought he was going to be retiring for good, a source told The Sun.
Heres what you need to know about Billy, his wife and his battle with illness in recent years.
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Who is Billy Connolly married to?
Billy Connolly is married to Pamela Stephenson, an actress and comedian who now works as a clinical psychologist and writer – and who Strictly fans might remember from the 2010 series in which she reached the final.
The pair first met in 1979 when he made a cameo appearance on the comedy sketch show Not The Nine OClock News, in which Stephenson starred alongside Mel Smith, Rowan Atkinson and Griff Rhys Jones.
They were married in 1989 and together have three daughters, Amy, Daisy and Scarlett.
The comedian is also father to children Cara and Jamie with first wife Iris Pressagh, whom he was married to from 1969 to 1985.
As well as being his wife Stephenson also penned his biography Billy, which was published in 2002.
Marriage to Pam didnt change me; it saved me, Connolly has said.
I was going to die. I was on a downwards spiral and enjoying every second of it. Not only was I dying, but I was looking forward to it.
What illness does Billy Connolly have?
The comedian was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease in 2013 – on the same day as he also received a prostate cancer diagnosis.
Parkinsons means that part of the brain becomes damaged over the years, affecting memory, hearing and energy levels.
Hes previously been praised for speaking out about the effect that Parkinsons has had on him.
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Speaking in the documentary Made In Scotland he said: Parkinsons is strange because its not gonna go away.
All my life Ive got sick, Ive had flu and various things and they all went away. This isnt going anywhere. This is gonna get worse.