DRIVING change

Former Army colonel GUY DEACON on dispelling the myths about Parkinson's disease on an African road trip

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WORLD'S TOUGHEST DRIVE: MY AFRICAN ADVENTURE

NEW THURSDAY, 11PM, C4 FACTUAL

After retiring from a distinguished military career in 2019, ex-British Army colonel Guy Deacon embarked upon an extraordinary solo mission to drive 18,000 miles across Africa to raise awareness of Parkinson's disease.

Diagnosed with the neurological disorder almost a decade prior, the intrepid adventurer set off from his Dorset home in his trusty VW camper van to traverse the continent's west coast, hoping to dispel misconceptions about Parkinson's, particularly in regions where it's sometimes associated with witchcraft.

His remarkable experiences are chronicled in one-off C4 documentary World's Toughest Drive: My African Adventure, which follows Guy through 25 countries, including Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria and down to South Africa, speaking to the media, doctors and people living with Parkinson's along the way.

Here, in an exclusive interview, 63-year-old Guy - who also wrote about his expedition in his 2024 memoir, Running on Empty - tells