An Australian doctor noticed the early signs of Parkinson’s disease in Sir Billy Connolly during a chance meeting seven years ago and encouraged him to seek medical advice.

Tasmania orthopaedic surgeon Dr Gary Fettke told 2GB radio that he had seen Sir Billy in the lobby of a Los Angeles hotel in 2012 and had thought he had been on “the grog”.

However, on closer inspection, he realised Sir Billy wasn’t drunk but had lost some animation in his face and was shuffling a bit.

Back in his room, a Google search failed to find anything about the Scottish comedian being diagnosed with Parkinson’s.