Robbie Williams has revealed his father has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The singer, 46, who is self-isolating at his Los Angeles home with wife Ayda Field and their four children, said he had been suffering “fear and panic” while his 70-year-old father is in the UK.
“We’ve got a lot of family issues right now,” he told the Mirror. “My dad has got Parkinson’s, my mother-in-law who I love dearly has got a very big illness. We can’t get to them. My dad is thousands of miles away.”
Williams added: “My mum is just a year short of 80 and she’s in isolation and I can see the things whirling in her mind and her eyes going.”
The X Factor judge, who has been open about his mental health battles, said he has learned to deal with his problems in a healthier way.
He said: “I noticed at the start of the lockdown that I was going into fear.
“But the difference between me now and the person I used to be… I saw it, thought ‘That’s interesting – tomorrow will be different’. And it was.”
Former Take That star Williams has often been joined on stage by his father Peter, who is also a singer.
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects a sufferer’s movement, often including tremors.
According to the NHS, around 1 in 500 people are affected by Parkinson’s disease.
Most people with Parkinson’s start to develop symptoms when they are over 50, though many first experience symptoms before the age of 40.
