In My Own Words: Billy Connolly

Neither Parkinson's disease or age have diminished Billy Connolly's wit or wisdom in this astonishingly intimate self portrait of the stand-up pioneer turned cultural icon.

Told in his own words, with unflinching honesty and access to superlative archive, this is not the well trod story of his celebrated career in stand-up, but rather a surprising and delightful meditation on the joys of growing older and wiser, as he looks back on his triumphs and shortcomings as an entertainer, husband and father.

He talks about the failing of his first marriage, his profound kinship with Robin Williams, the pressure he put on himself to rise to the challenge of working alongside Dame Judi Dench and his abiding love of Pamela Stephenson, his wife of 35 years.

The confusion and loneliness he felt as a child trapped in a violent home is palpable, likewise is his joy in finding a place where he belonged in the Clyde shipyards. It's revelatory watching the discomfort he feels viewing his early work in the 1970s grow to something approaching pride in his later stand up. But it's his observations on love and stoicism in his relationships that linger long after the credits roll.