Search icon

Movies & TV

14th Jun 2019

The Chase star Paul Sinha has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease

Paul Moore

Paul Sinha

“Treat me exactly the same as before.” Very brave words.

The Chase’s Paul Sinha has announced that he has has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and type 2 diabetes.

In a blog post, Mr Sinha said he received the diagnosis on 30 May after visiting a consultant neurologist.

He writes: “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.”

The 49-year-old is one of the five ‘chasers’ on the popular beloved game show The Chase.

Here’s the remainder of his post:

“I spent May this year in New Zealand simultaneously having the comedy month of my life, and worrying about why a right-sided limp was now getting worse. Behind the facade of the cheerful, late night comedy festival drunk was a man deeply scared about facing the truth when back in the UK.

“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 the diagnosis now confirmed, and a treatment plan in place, I now feel far more prepared for the new challenges ahead. I have an amazing family, no strangers to serious medical illness, I’m blessed to have a fiance who is there for me, and I have a multitude of friends and colleagues whom I consider to be exceptional human beings. I don’t consider myself unlucky, and whatever the next stage of my life holds for me, many others have it far worse.

“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.”

Fellow ‘chaser’ Jenny Ryan was among those who sent good wishes to Mr Sinha following his announcement.

LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Conor Sketches | Tiger Woods loves Ger Loughnane and cosplaying as Charles LeClerc