Paul Sinha from The Chase has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, he confirmed today.
The British comedian, trained doctor, and broadcaster broke the devastating news to his followers on social media this afternoon (June 14).
Saying he ‘will fight this with every breath he has,’ Sinha posted a link to a blog post he authored, explaining the diagnosis in detail.
In the blog post, the 49-year-old revealed he had been diagnosed with the disease on May 30.
He wrote:
On the evening of Thursday May 30th, an experienced consultant neurologist calmly informed me that I had Parkinson’s disease.
It was a devastating denouement to a medical odyssey that began in September 2017 with a sudden-onset, frozen right shoulder, and took in an unexpected diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes, a lifestyle transformation that enabled me to lose two stone, and a shoulder operation in January this year.
However, Sinha explained he wasn’t shocked by the diagnosis, having spent the previous month worrying about why a right-sided limp was getting worse.
The comedian noted that while he was ‘having the comedy month of his life’ in New Zealand, behind the facade of ‘the cheerful, late night comedy festival drunk’ was a man ‘deeply scared about facing the truth’ when he returned to the UK.
The post continued:
It has been a really, really tough two weeks.
Cancelling my run at the Edinburgh Fringe, missing the World Quizzing Championships to have brain scans, performing club sets whilst emotionally bewildered, and of course working my way through my loved ones, delivering the bad news.
With Sinha’s diagnosis now confirmed and a treatment plan in place, the comedian said he feels ‘far more prepared’ for the challenges ahead.
Parkinson’s disease ‘is a condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years,’ according to the NHS.
The three main symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are: involuntary shaking of particular parts of the body, known as a tremor; slow movement; and stiff and inflexible muscles.
Following his diagnosis, Sinha says he will continue his role as ‘The Sinnerman’ on The Chase, as well as continue to write and perform comedy.
The 49-year-old described himself as ‘blessed’ to have an amazing fiancé, family, friends and colleagues whom he ‘considers to be exceptional human beings’.
Remaining calm Sinha said he doesn’t consider himself to be unlucky, noting ‘many others have it far worse’.
The post continued:
In the time since my Parkinson’s started I have been ludicrously busy, and fully intend to keep Chasing, keep writing and performing comedy, keep quizzing and keep being hopeless at Tasks. Dancing on Ice is, I suspect, out of the question.
A lot of people have asked ‘What can I do to help ?’ The answer is to treat me exactly the same as before.
Our thoughts are with Paul as he embarks upon this journey.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).