Billy Connolly will be Down Under, so won't be voting in Scotland's independence referendum.

The Big Yin has revealed he will be New Zealand when the poll takes place on September 18, but says in any case he's got no interest in the debate about the future of his homeland.

The Glasgow-born comedian and actor has revealed he will not be voting in the independence referendum, describing the debate around it as a "morass that I care not to dip my toe into".

The 71-year-old star said he did not want to get involved in the debate as he did not want to influence anybody.

He was speaking to the BBC News Channel from New York about reading some of Seamus Heaney's final works for a new animated series, when he was asked about Scottish independence.

He said: "I try to keep away out of it, I don't want to be an influence in it, I don't want to influence anybody.

"A lot of people take your word like it's spun gold as if there's some sense to it, I don't want to influence anybody so I shut up.

"I think the Scots will come to a good conclusion in the referendum, they'll get what they deserve."

The actor and comedian was asked about comments he had made previously about feeling a sense of community among people from a similar background to himself.

He told the BBC: "There's a thing I was always saying when I was asked about nationalism, I've never been a nationalist and I've never been a patriot.

"I've always remembered that I have a lot more in common with a welder from Liverpool than I do with someone with an agricultural background from the Highlands, although I do love them, I love Scotland and all it's different faces.

"That's why this referendum thing is so difficult, it's a morass that I care not to dip by toe into."

When asked if he would be casting a vote in the referendum he said: "I'm not going to vote. I wont be there, I'll be in New Zealand."

The star, affectionately known as the Big Yin, started his showbusiness career as a folk singer before developing the stand-up act that made him famous and led to a career in television and film.

Last year he had surgery for prostate cancer and was treated for the "initial symptoms" of Parkinson's Disease.

He has since said his health is good and he laughed as he told the BBC News Channel: "I'm okay. I'm old and I'm cold. I'm going deaf, I can't walk very well.

"I'm getting a lot better, I'm a lot better than I was which is a wonderful position to be in. Someone once said growing old is not for sissies, they knew what they were talking about."