The Chase's Paul Sinha's tear-jerking health update after Parkinson's diagnosis

Paul Sinha appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning to share how life has been treating him, as he marks five years since his diagnosis with Parkinson's Disease. The Chase star revealed that, despite suffering unpleasant symptoms, his brain hasn't let him down and he's still able to compete on the ITV show.

"As long as my brain functions and I can fulfil my dreams of being a stand-up comedian and quizzer, I'm a happy man!" he exclaimed. "I hope you'll agree my medication seems to be controlling things quite well," Paul continued.

He added that his right hand is not functioning as well as his left, but clarified that he can "deal with" the symptoms. Discussing how his diagnosis first came about, he revealed medics had originally thought he was struggling with a frozen shoulder - only to realise that something more was at play.

"It was treated as orthopedic but [then] nothing got better," he lamented. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's, a condition affecting the brain which causes tremors (uncontrollable shaking), stiffness of the body and slowness of movement, in 2019.

According to the NHS website, it is caused by a loss of nerve cells in part of the brain controlling motor activity, and treatments can include physiotherapy, medicine and, in extreme cases, brain surgery. Opening up on the show this morning, Paul admitted that his diagnosis had been a "relief" after a period of stress and uncertainty.

"Fundamentally it was a relief - devastating of course but a relief to have an explanation of what's going on... and a clarity of thought on things are going to be like," he explained.

Meanwhile, Paul continued that he'd been listening studiously to the advice given by medics.

"With a doctor, I listen to every word they say and assume I know nothing!" he quipped.

Meanwhile, citing his abilities, he added: "I'm good with words and numbers [but] if you gave me a picture of a supermodel, I wouldn't know who they were!"

He's come a long way, having recently revealed that he was the only comedian at Edinburgh Fringe Festival to have a "deteriorating neurological disease".

Paul's appearance with Sally Nugent and Jon Kay comes as he prepares to celebrate the release of a new book, A Sinha Lifetime.

The memoir, which is released this Thursday on Penguin Books, will discuss his journey to find his identity, quizzing whether he has been "an over-achieving schoolkid with the world's knowledge at his fingertips" or "a traditional Bengali son, destined for a career in medicine that he never once craved".

"A young gay man yearning to breathe freely? Or was he yet another flawed human being on a self-destruct mission?"

Meanwhile, for more The Chase news, Express.co.uk exclusively spoke to Anne Hegerty last week to find out more about her latest project - and it involves an "exorcism".