SIR Billy Connolly has hit out at Sir Michael Parkinson over comments he made about the comedian's "wonderful brain" being "dulled" by his battle with Parkinson's disease.
Legendary interviewer Parky, 76, claimed earlier this year that there was a "sad and awkward" moment during an awards dinner where the Scottish comic didn't recognise him, apparently due to the effects of the degenerative disorder.
But Sir Billy, 76, says he had no idea what Sir Michael was talking about and even took aim at his former friend's Over-50s life insurance adverts for SunLife.
"It was two years since I'd seen him and that occasion was the GQ dinner and I did really well, so what he was talking about I'll never know. He's been selling funerals too long," he told The Times.
"The thing that got me about it was what if it was true? It's still a shitty thing to do. What do you think of Billy Connolly? 'Oh, he's f****d'".
Sir Billy added that he has not spoken to Sir Michael since the awards dinner, and "doesn't speak to him normally anyway."
The comedian was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2013 and has suffered a decline in his memory and muscle tone since.
Sir Michael discussed Sir Billy's condition back in August on ITV's Saturday Morning With James Martin.
During the show he said: "The sadness of Billy now is that wonderful brain is dulled.
"I saw him recently... it was very sad because I was presenting him with a prize at an awards ceremony.
"We had an awkward dinner together, because I wasn't quite sure if he knew who I was or not".
Sir Michael added: "To know someone as long as I knew and loved Billy... it was an awful thing to contemplate, that that had been taken from him in a sense.
"He was just a genius and the best thing that happened to me on the show."
