Billy Connolly rolls out publicity for Route 66 series

Scottish comedian and actor Billy Connolly has been making the publicity rounds this week ahead of a Route 66 travelogue that’s set to air on ITV next month.

Most of his interviews center around his motorcycle accident during the trip. His trike ran over him on a incline near Flagstaff, Ariz. He broke a rib, gashed his knee, and spent a week in a hospital before resuming — and finishing — his Mother Road journey.

He told TV Biz: “It was my own fault. We came to a part of Route 66 which was hard with gravel and scooped up. The camera car was in front of me and took it easily, but my bike has got three wheels and I went up and round.

“I had a thing for cruise control on the throttle and it jammed on and I slipped the clutch and the trike came over on top of me and broke my rib. I have got a rather glamorous purple patch on my knee which you will only see when I wear my kilt. I will lie about it though, God damn those Germans and their shrapnel!”

As for Route 66 itself, Connolly told The Sun of London:

Billy said his favourite stop on the tour was a tiny place where there was just ONE woman. He said: “I could deal with a town like that as I’m always in trouble with women. One at a time!”

That must have been the Texas-New Mexico border town of Glenrio.

He told the Daily Record about collecting souvenirs along the Mother Road:

“My trip to America meant travelling the length of Route 66 on my trike and I think I must have stopped at every souvenir shop on the way to buy things for my grandchildren,” he said.

“And, let me tell you, there are a lot of souvenir shops on Route 66. But I had to do it. My grandchildren collect keyrings and badges, and one of my daughters collects teaspoons.

“The bill for sending that lot home via FedEx was enormous but, of course, worth every penny.

“I didn’t want to let them down. I love being a dad and a grandad and would do anything for my children and grandchildren.”

And he also said this about the Mother Road itself:

“I was keen to make the series because the route is a particular favourite of mine. I think it’s sad how American people don’t appear to care too much for it.

“In Scotland, we’ve got the West Highland Way which is just a path, with no history, and yet people guard it with their lives and volunteer to keep it in good shape.

“With Route 66, there’s none of that and it’s sad because it’s magnificent.”

He also told the Daily Mail:

He recently said: ‘How many other roads do you know that people sing about? It is just one of those places you long to see.

‘Ever since I was a wee boy in Glasgow, I have fantasised about getting my kicks on Route 66.

‘This will be a tale in tarmac of presidents and paupers, cowboys and Indians, diners and drive-throughs, framed in a landscape from 100 movies with a soundtrack of the greatest music in the world – rock and roll.’

In England, “Billy Connolly’s Route 66” starts on STV on Sept. 15 and runs for four weeks.