Quiz star Paul Sinha has joked his recently-revealed Parkinson’s disease is only partly to blame for his poor performance on a game show.
The TV personality, 49, shared the devastating news about his diagnosis last week, vowing to battle the condition with “every breath I have.”
Since that announcement, Paul’s latest appearance on Dave’s Taskmaster has aired – and he took the mickey out of his failure at the programme’s silly challenges by joking it was only partly due to his health news.
Paul told his 116,000 Twitter followers: “I ought to clarify for Taskmaster fans. I’m an absolute dolt when it comes to common sense, lateral thinking and visual creativity.
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“The illness was only a tiny aspect of why I floundered.”
However, many fans were moved by Paul’s humour and bravery considering his ill health – and appreciated his honesty for opening up.
“You’re a hero for just trying to do it,” replied one fan.
Another said: “Sorry to hear your news. I had such high hopes for you on Taskmaster. But you make me laugh and really isn’t that the point?!”
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And a third tweeted: “I am loving watching you on Taskmaster, I love the show and think you are very brave to do it!”
Comedian Paul has insisted he will continue to appear on ITV’s The Chase – but has joked that a stint on Dancing On Ice may be “out of the question”.
He revealed in his blog: “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.”
Paul concluded: “A lot of people have asked ‘What can I do to help?’
“The answer is to treat me exactly the same as before.”
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