The 78-year-old comedian revealed he spends a lot of time contemplating death but is no longer afraid of dying. Glaswegian Billy - or The Big Yin, as he is affectionately known - was forced to retire from stand-up as his struggle with the degenerative brain disorder took its toll on his health.
But ahead of an ITV celebration of his 60-year career, the former shipyard worker told how he is perfectly comfortable with life.He said: "I think about death quite a lot now that I am 78.
I don't think I've got that long."There's a thing that they teach in Buddhism when you see a dead animal in the street - a pigeon, a little bird or a rabbit."You say to yourself, 'That is the way of all life and that is the way it will be for me.' And it makes you.