Billy Connolly has opened up about his son's secret addiction to drugs and alcohol. The star spoke frankly about his son Jamie's situation when visiting drug addicts in West Virginia for his new ITV travel series. Speaking about his son, who is 50-years-old, the comedian said: "My son has a problem and he’s in AA and NA. He told me when he went to the detox place some kids were being let out and they were back on the stuff before they got to the railway station. It’s so powerful. People who don't know about it say: 'Why do they take it? Just say no. Just stop and you'll be better'. Duh. It's extraordinary."
In the new documentary, titled Billy Connolly’s Great American Trail, the 76-year-old will investigate America's devastating opioid addiction crisis, which has claimed 90,000 lives in the past two years alone. Billy himself gave up alcohol 35 years ago, and in one scene jokes: "I don't shake because I'm in need of a fix, I shake because I've got Parkinson's disease."
Billy spoke about his son's troubles in his new ITV documentary
The father-of-five was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2012, and in January made the heart-breaking admission that he felt as though is life is "slipping away". Speaking in his BBC documentary series Made In Scotland, Billy said: "There is no denying it, I am 75, I have got Parkinson's and I am at the wrong end of the telescope of life," he shared. "I am at the point where the yesteryears mean more than the yesterdays because it is back there in my childhood and youth.
MORE: Billy Connolly feels his 'life is slipping away' following heartbreaking diagnosis with Parkinson's
Billy was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2012
MORE: Robin Williams 'tried to say goodbye to me' in last phone call, says Billy Connolly
"My life, it's slipping away and I can feel it," he added. "I'm 75, 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."