The Chase star Paul Sinha marries partner following Parkinson's diagnosis

TV personality Paul Sinha poses for photographers on arrival at the TV Choice Awards in central London on Monday, Sept. 9, 2019. (Photo by Grant Pollard/Invision/AP)
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

The Chase star Paul Sinha has married his long-term partner Olly.

The 49-year-old comedian – best known as Chaser “The Sinnerman” on the ITV gameshow – exchanged vows in front of close friends and family at a registry office over the weekend. The non-religious ceremony included readings of the lyrics to Love Comes Quickly by the Pet Shop Boys and Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart.

Sinha described the wedding on his blog as “the greatest day of my life.”

Read more: 'The Chase' star Paul Sinha diagnosed with Parkinson's disease

He revealed he and Olly spent a year planning the wedding - which included performing a self-written song-and-dance number to 75 lunch guests and preparing a six-and-a-half-hour multimedia audiovisual accompaniment to his disco playlist, which suffered a technical glitch.

Sinha announced in June that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder of the nervous system that commonly affects movement, walking and can cause shaking.

The stand-up comedian admitted that symptoms of the diseases, including mood swings, low motivation and tiredness had made the wedding difficult and stressful.

But he added: “I then went on to have the greatest day of my life... Suddenly, I was able to forget my troubles, and effortlessly glide through the company of three-hundred beloved guests.

Read more: Viewers praise Billy Connolly for frank Parkinson’s discussion

“Best of all, when I woke up the next morning, I realised I hadn’t thought about my Parkinson’s once.

“All I thought was how lucky I was to have lived a life where my friends and family are amazing. On to married life.”

Paul Sinha performing at the War on Want Comedy Gig, at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in west London.
Paul Sinha performing at the War on Want Comedy Gig, at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in west London.

Read more: BBC broadcaster Rory Cellan-Jones thought his Parkinson's symptoms were a 'running injury'

Sinha told Elis James and John Robins on BBC Radio 5 Live this week: “My mental health has been through everything this year, and I’m not saying it’s easy but I don’t feel depressed. I feel energised.”

He went on: “I was the most unhappy drunk you could possibly imagine. I was the guy who would be crying in the corner of his own birthday party… It was a cry for help because being single and being someone who felt excluded by the gay scene I just never got to meet the kind of people I wanted to go out with let alone be in a position where I could ask them out.

“Now, paradoxically, I’m happy. I’m happy because I am the person I wanted to be – (a) professional comedian and professional quizzer. How could I possibly be having more of a dream life than the one I’m having now?”

Announcing his Parkinson’s diagnosis earlier this year Sinha revealed his first symptoms had presented themselves in a “frozen right shoulder” in 2017 and a right-sided limp which had become increasingly worse.