Robbie William's dad Pete has broken a bone in his spine following a horror fall prompting fans to send their warmest get well wishes.
The Let Me Entertain You singer's father Peter Williams, who goes by the stage name Pete Conway, gave his 13.1k followers an update on what he'd been up to. But instead of his usual humorous posts - including seeing faces in his porridge to snowy 'bird spa' scenes from his garden, the former performer shocked fans with his latest instalment.
Pete, 72, shared two photographs from his journey to hospital and captioned them to explain, "Yesterday I had a fall and broke a bone in my spine..(yes, it hurts)… and I spent all day today in hospital. I’ve had better days. Parkinsons is a nuisance"
Pete, who still lives in Robbie's hometown of Stoke-on-Trent was rushed to Royal Stoke University Hospital for treatment.
In the photos Pete shared he is sat in the back of an ambulance with paramedics and the other photo is of him in a hospital bed.
Son Robbie, who previously spoke of plans to move back to the UK, with his wife Ayda Field and their children daughter Theodora 'Teddy', 10, son Charlton, eight, daughter Colette 'Coco', four, and son Beau, three, has been busy touring in Cologne, Germany and has not yet responded publicly to his dad's hospitalisation but Pete revealed they do speak on the phone.
Yesterday I had a fall and broke a bone in my spine..(yes, it hurts)… and I spent all day today in hospital. I’ve had better days. #Parkinsons is a nuisance 🤨 pic.twitter.com/g9bgKIiDeFFebruary 7, 2023
Pete revealed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinsons disease in 2017 - a disease also suffered by Jeremy Paxman.
Speaking about Parkinsons at the time Pete said, "A lot of people close to me didn’t even know I had it. I was diagnosed three years ago and, to be honest, I knew it was coming on. It was just one of those things.
“The symptoms come and go, it’s just a bit of a nuisance more than anything. Rob mentioned it in an interview last week, but I’ve had it for a long time and I’m just carrying on as normal.
“It’s not a secret and it was going to come out at some point - I just put up with it really," he added.
He also previously revealed that in lockdown his son Robbie called him every day, "Robbie rings me just before he goes to bed when I’m just getting up, because of the time difference.
“I miss the whole family and it’s the first thing I’ll do when lockdown is over. I have to keep adding to my bucket list because people keep saying ‘when lockdown is over we must [insert activity]!’
Pete, who is a former entertainer himself, shot to fame on TV show New Faces and became a regular on the cabaret circuit. And prior to his showbiz career, he worked as a policeman and publican of the Red Lion, Burslem.
Both stars and fans alike have been sending their get well wishes on Twitter, actress Rachel Shenton wrote, "Oh I’m sorry Pete - sending love" Olympic medalist boxer Tony Jeffries put, "Oh sorry to hear this my mate. Sending my love & wishing you fast recovery x"
And Emmerdale actor Dean Andrews added, "Bloody hell mate. Hope you’re ok. Much love x"
And one fan said, "So sad to hear you've had a tumble, sounds nasty. Wishing you a speedy recovery and hope they're keeping the pain down in the meantime. Lots of love x"
Another fan added, "So so sorry to hear this - speedy recovery . We hope you still have access to the sport on TV while in hospital x."
Robbie's dad has since updated fans, he tweeted, "Would like to say a huge Thank You for the Get Well Soon wishes and also the NHS staff at Royal Stoke hospital (and my ambulance drivers.. Mick & Chris) very efficient and we are lucky to have them."
And speaking about his recovery, he also revealed he was "mending slowly" and added, "it will take three months they say."
Get Well Soon!
