Spanish comedian, writer and television contributor Pepe Colubi has publicly revealed that he has Parkinson’s disease, explaining that he received the diagnosis around two and a half years ago and had kept it largely private until now.

Colubi shared the news during an interview with journalist Julia Otero on Onda Cero’s Julia en la onda on Sunday, 11 October 2026. Known for his appearances on the television programme Ilustres ignorantes, he said that speaking openly about his condition would help him reduce the pressure he had felt while keeping it to himself.

“In a way, it’s like coming out of the closet,” he said, using humour to describe the decision to make his diagnosis public.

The Symptoms That Led to His Diagnosis

Colubi explained that he first began to suspect something was wrong after noticing a slight tremor in a finger on his right hand.

Before that, he had experienced fatigue and changes in his blood pressure, which he initially attributed to stress. His father had also lived with Parkinson’s disease, a family experience that prompted Colubi to seek medical advice when the tremor appeared.

He eventually consulted a neurologist and received the diagnosis in April 2024.

Colubi has spoken about the emotional impact of receiving the news, while explaining that his familiarity with the condition through his father meant the diagnosis was not entirely unfamiliar to him.

Why He Decided to Speak Publicly

For more than two years, Colubi chose to keep the diagnosis within his private circle. He explained that he worried people around him might begin paying excessive attention to his movements or interpreting ordinary gestures as signs of the disease.

He described this heightened awareness of how others might observe him as an uncomfortable experience.

By speaking publicly, he hopes to change his relationship with the condition and feel less pressure to manage what other people know about his health.

He also acknowledged that friends who were previously unaware of the diagnosis would now learn about it through his announcement.

His Current Treatment and Outlook

Colubi said his first treatment did not work as hoped, but that his current medication was helping him maintain a relatively stable situation.

He also discussed the need to manage the effects of both the condition and its treatment. His comments reflected his personal experience rather than a prediction about how the disease will progress.

Colubi has said he wants to avoid becoming preoccupied with anticipating every possible change in his condition and instead focus on living day to day.

Continuing to Face the Condition with Humour

Humour has remained an important part of how Colubi approaches the diagnosis. He explained that his father also dealt with Parkinson’s using humour and a positive attitude, which influenced his own outlook.

His decision to speak publicly marks a change after more than two years of keeping the diagnosis largely private. By sharing his experience, Colubi hopes to remove some of the pressure associated with concealing the condition and allow it to become a more openly acknowledged part of his life.

His announcement has also brought attention to the experience of living with Parkinson’s, including the uncertainty, treatment adjustments and personal decisions that can accompany a diagnosis.