Father Ted favourite Frank Kelly has revealed he is living with Parkinson's disease.
The actor, who is best known for playing foul-mouthed alcoholic priest Father Jack Hackett in the comedy series Father Ted, has said he is determined to keep acting and not let the debilitating condition get the better of him.
He told the Irish Sun, "I've been working as an actor for over 50 years, and a shaky hand won't stop me. I remain open to offers for work on stage and screen. I'm quite available and my mobile is always on."
"I'm not going to let Parkinson's beat me. I'm just not that kind of person,"
The actor, who also played Dermot Macey in Emmerdale, has said he may have been dealing with the condition for up to 20 years because he was unsure what it was.
He said: "I was shaving with my left hand with my right hand down by my side, which my daughter Fiona noticed was shaking. That was a very long time ago. No one ever noticed that little shake in my hand, I just got on with it."
He suffered from heart failure earlier this year and that is when he was diagnosed.
He said: "That's when they diagnosed the Parkinson's. It was my first diagnoses but I am quite confident that I have had this for years and years."
Kelly previoulsy also battled with bowel cancer for five years but was given the all clear in 2011.
Kelly is expected to next write a memoir which will recount his years spent a sub-editor in the Irish press, his role as father-of-seven and an encounter with a real-life preiest who told him he did not appreciate his potrayal of boozy Father Jack.
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