Showbiz

Billy Connolly opens up about horror bike crash

Published Thursday, Aug 25 2011, 22:12 BST | By Rebecca Davies | 6 comments

Billy Connolly has opened up for the first time about his recent bike crash.

The Scottish comedian and television personality, who broke his rib and cut his leg open after losing control of his three-wheeled vehicle while filming his Billy Connolly's Route 66 show, was described as brave and "incredible" by his producer.

Connolly told the Daily Mail: "We came to the end of Route 66 and there was a [steep incline] with gravel. My bike has got three wheels and I went up and round. I was using cruise control on the throttle and it jammed on and I slipped the clutch. The trike came over on top of me and broke my rib."

The show's executive producer Mark Downie added: "Billy was incredible about it. We spoke to him to see how he wanted to proceed. We gave him the option of finishing and going home but he was determined to continue. He didn't complain at all."

In March this year, the 68-year-old star was forced to cancel his Sydney Opera House gig because he was "extremely ill" with a virus.

Connolly recently revealed that he is currently working on his first film script but admitted that perhaps he needed to work alongside someone else to avoid his constant "scribbling".

Watch Billy Connolly during his 1997 Two Night Stand tour below: