It’s the Big Yarn – Billy’s in stitches
BILLY Connolly always likes to leave his audience in stitches and now he’s got the needle – thanks to his latest hobby.
The Big Yin has taken up embroidery after getting a kit for his birthday.
Connolly, once a welder in Glasgow’s tough shipyards, was inspired to take up the homespun pursuit by two old pals, the actress Dame Judi Dench and the late Kenny Everett, the legendary DJ.
But it was only when his daughter Scarlett bought him an embroidery kit for his 72nd birthday last November that he finally got sewing, he has now revealed.
He said: “I’ve always wanted to embroider. I’ve thought about it a long time and I want to do a black-and-white picture like a photo. It came from Kenny Everett and Judi. He used to embroider and she still does.”
The comedian first met Dame Judi when they starred together in the Queen Victoria historical drama, Mrs Brown, released in 1997.
He explained: “Judi is also known for her lewd embroidery skills, intricately sewing cushions with rude words rather than charming homilies.
“So I decided to take up the craft, finally inspired by an exhibition I saw in Adelaide by an artist who embroidered photographs. This is no joke. I swear it’s true. My daughter gave me all the gear for my birthday.”
The entertainer is currently touring Australia where he is playing to sold out theatres.
I’ve always wanted to embroider. I’ve thought about it a long time and I want to do a black-and-white picture like a photo.
The father-of-five described a hearing aid he is now using on stage as “a miracle”.
It allows him to hear audience responses properly once again.
He said at first he thought they had stopped laughing but later realised he just couldn’t hear them.
Following a successful operation for prostate cancer and a battle with Parkinson’s Disease, the performer has revealed that he also had to have treatment for a series of blood clots in his leg – one of which occurred during the filming of his documentary on death, Billy Connolly’s Big Send Off.
