Robbie Williams has revealed his father has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The singer, 46, is isolating at his home in Los Angeles with wife Ayda Field and their four children.
Williams said he has been experiencing “fear and panic” while his 70-year-old father is in the UK.
He told the Mirror: “We’ve got a lot of family issues right now. My dad has got Parkinson’s, my mother-in-law who I love dearly has got a very big illness. We can’t get to them. My dad is thousands of miles away.”
Williams added: “My mum is just a year short of 80 and she’s in isolation and I can see the things whirling in her mind and her eyes going.”
The X Factor judge, who has been open about his mental health struggles, said he has learned to deal with his problems in a healthier way.
He said: “I noticed at the start of the lockdown that I was going into fear. But the difference between me now and the person I used to be… I saw it, thought ‘That’s interesting – tomorrow will be different’. And it was.”
Former Take That star Williams has often been joined on stage by his father Peter, who is also a singer.
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects a sufferer’s movement, often including tremors.
According to the NHS, it is thought around 1 in 500 people are affected by Parkinson’s disease.
Most people with Parkinson’s start to develop symptoms when they are over 50, though many first experience symptoms before the age of 40.
Men are slightly more likely to get the illness than women.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel