71-year-old TV host, Jeremy Paxman revealed last May that he was diagnosed with the incurable brain and motor disease, Parkinson’s. The University Challenge host has revealed he would regularly fall over and he knew something “wasn’t right with his health.”

Keep reading to find out more about Paxman’s diagnosis as well as what went he went through and the struggles he has faced since.

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Jeremy Paxman ended up with “blood everywhere” due to Parkinson’s

The presenter revealed in May 2021 that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He told the Sunday Times Magazine that he noticed he kept falling over, so much so that he would end up with “cuts, bruises, black eyes and blood everywhere.” He explained:

I kept falling over, I blamed the dog getting under my feet, but after the last time I went down, straight on my face, it was a real mess – black eyes, cuts and blood everywhere – and I thought, “This isn’t right”

Jeremy Paxman, Sunday Times Magazine

Paxman revealed that he was confused when it first happened as he didn’t consider Parkinson’s as an option as his symptoms weren’t the more common body tremors.

Paxman struggled to accept his diagnosis

Jeremy continued to explain what happened when he went to the doctors and said that when he was told he had Parkinson’s, he responded, “Parkinson’s what?”

The University Challenge host went on to say how the hardest part of the process was accepting his condition saying that “it’s very hard to know you’re not going to get better.”

The symptoms of Parkinson’s start very mild and gradually get worse over time. The most common symptom is body tremors, but this isn’t the only one and often this confuses people with the condition. The diseases can also manifest through slow mobility and inflexible muscles, according to the NHS.

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Paxman says he is “adapting: to his condition

Paxman has said that he struggles most with the “unpredictability of the disease” but says that all he can do is adapt to it. He explained:

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,’ he said, adding he felt tired most of the time.

Jeremy Paxman, Sunday Times Magazine

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

Jeremy Paxman, Sunday Times Magazine

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Niamh is a multi-faceted journalist with speciality interests in entertainment, lifestyle and culture. She recently graduated from the University of South Wales with a degree in Journalism and enjoys writing features, reviews and trending news stories.

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