Sir Billy Connolly reveals plans to publish autobiography this year

Sir Billy Connolly has revealed the plan to publish his first ever autobiography just weeks after making his last TV appearance.

Sir Billy Connolly made his final TV appearance in an ITV special in December.

The Scottish comedy legend will chart his remarkable life and a career as an entertainer which spanned more than half a century.

His publisher said the autobiography, Windswept and Interesting, would be a “wise, heartfelt, opinionated and hugely funny book”.

Sir Billy, 78, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease eight years ago, has announced the autobiography after bowing out with a final TV special broadcast over the festive season, which was filmed at his home in Florida.

The new book is due to be published in October, nearly two decades after a best-selling biography by the Glasgow-born star’s wife Pamela Stephenson.

Publisher Two Roads has announced plans for the autobiography in the wake of the success of a collection of Sir Billy’s comedy routines, Tall Tales & Wee Stories, which has sold more than 600,000 copies in under 18 months.

The new book will see the star, an apprentice welder in the Clyde shipyards when he left school, recall how he rose from Glasgow’s folk music scene to stand-up comedy before finding fame with a celebrated appearance on Michael Parkinson’s chat show in 1975.

The autobiography is also expected to see Sir Billy reflect on his troubled upbringing in Glasgow, where he was brought up by two of his aunts, and the sexual abuse he suffered at he hands of his father as a teenager.

"I wanted to be a funny man and I got it" - Billy Connolly in retirement in Florida

The book is also likely to touch on his struggle with illness after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s and cancer in 2013 and his decision to stop performing live in 2018.

Sir Billy said of the new book, due to be be launched in October: “It’s the first time I’ve done this. Other people have written about me – or for me – but this time it’s just my own life in my own words.

“I didn’t know I was windswept and interesting until somebody told me. I had long hair and a beard and was swishing around in electric blue flairs. He said ‘look at you – all windswept and interesting!’ I just said ‘exactly’. After that, I simply had to maintain my reputation.”

The announcement from Two Roads, an imprint of John Murray Press, stated: “Windswept and Interesting is Billy Connolly’s first full-length autobiography, where the national treasure reveals the truth behind his windswept and interesting life.

The cover image from Sir Billy Connolly's forthcoming autobiography, Windswept and Interesting.

"Joyfully funny and stuffed full of hard-earned wisdom as well as countless digressions on fishing, farting and the joys of dancing naked, it is the unforgettable, life-affirming story of a true comedy legend.”

Nick Davies, managing director at John Murray Press, said: “There are few people who inspire such warmth and affection among audiences worldwide.

"I can’t think of a better way to follow the phenomenal success of Tall Tales and Wee Stories than with Billy’s long awaited autobiography. It is a wise, heartfelt, opinionated and hugely funny book.”

Speaking during his final TV appearance in December about his decision to retire, Sir Billy said: “It’s funny talking about the end of my career, because I’ve given it up and it’s strange talking about it as a thing of the past.

"It’s nice to come to that conclusion myself, that I should stop. It’s a nice, healthy feeling.”

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