Jeremy Paxman 'wishes he hadn't been born' after Parkinson's diagnosis

Jeremy Paxman said that Parkinson's disease "makes you wish you hadn't been born" after being diagnosed with it more than four years ago. The former University Challenge presenter found out that he had the illness after a fall whilst out walking resulted in a trip to hospital. He opened up about his experience with the illness during a documentary called Paxman: Putting Up With Parkinson's, in which he explained that his diagnosis was "completely out of the blue".

Paxman, 75, said that he had been out for a walk with his dog when he found himself being sat on a bench by someone. He had fallen over and made "a terrible mess" of his face before heading to A&E.

He said: "A doctor walked in and said, 'I think you've got Parkinson's.' And it turned out that he had been watching University Challenge and had noticed that my face had acquired what's known as the Parkinson's 'mask'." Paxman said he hadn't been as "effusive and exuberant as normal" but had no idea until it was pointed out to him.

Last year, the presenter presented the Parky Charter, and a petition, to Downing Street in honour of World Parkinson's Day. The charter included five key recommendations including swift access to specialists under the NHS and increased government funding for research for a cure.

In a frank statement, the former newsreader said that Parkinson's "may not kill you but it will make you wish you hadn't been born".

Paxman criticised the government's response to the disease thus far, and said: "I don't think we're going to get anywhere. You feel like you're banging your head against a brick wall." A spokesperson for the Health Department said at the time that it was "committed to spend at least £375m in research into neurodegenerative diseases over five years, so that we can better understand these conditions and improve outcomes for patients".

After his diagnosis, Paxman joined the Movers and Shakers podcast, which discusses the challenges of living with Parkinson's. Other presenters featured on the show include Rory Cellan-Jones, Mark Mardell, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Sr Nick Mostyn, and Paul Mayhew-Archer.

The father-of-three said that the "unpredictability" was one of the hardest things of the disease. He told The Sunday Times in 2021: "Sometimes you feel awake, sometimes you feel asleep, and how you are today is no guide to how you will be tomorrow. It's really annoying. I find myself very tired a lot of the time." He added: "Parkinson's is incurable, so you're stuck with it. And that is hard. Very hard to know you're not going to get better. You hope you will, but you don't."