The Chase star Paul Sinha has hit back over claims that he was forced to pull out of a new role due to his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
Paul, 51, furiously slammed a report that he had pulled out of an upcoming pantomime due to physical ailments.
It had been claimed that he said he was ‘forced’ to give up appearing in pantomimes because of his health.
During his interview on the podcast My Seven Wonders, he told Clive Anderson that “physical fitness” meant he could no longer partake in pantomimes.
What did The Chase star Paul Sinha actually say?
He also said: “This is the York Opera House in York where I spent the most intriguing month of my life being Abanazar in the York Opera House’s production of Aladdin in 2016.
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“So it’s not comedy, and it’s not high art, it’s the experience of being the worst member of the cast.”
However, Paul has hit back at the headline, and said that the idea that he was “forced to quit” is just “nonsense.”
Taking to his personal Twitter account, he declared: “‘Forced to quit’. What nonsense. I chose not to consider pantomime due to possible constraints. Because, free will.”
He followed up with: “Panto is great fun.
“It is also physically challenging, and takes up a lot of time during a month where we are usually recording.
“The whole tone of the headline implies illness = loss of work as opposed to simply changed priorities.”
When was Paul Sinha diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease?
Paul revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019.
Writing on his blog, he explained: “On the evening of Thursday, May 30th [2019], an experienced consultant neurologist calmly informed me that I had Parkinson’s disease.
“It was a devastating denouement to a medical odyssey that began in September 2017.
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“With a sudden-onset, frozen right shoulder, and took in an unexpected diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.
“A lifestyle transformation that enabled me to lose two stone, and a shoulder operation in January this year.”
He continued: “Nonetheless my reaction was not one of shock. I spent May this year in New Zealand simultaneously having the comedy month of my life. And worrying about why a right-sided limp was now getting worse.
“Behind the facade of the cheerful, late-night comedy festival drunk was a man deeply scared about facing the truth when back in the UK.”
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