Michael J. Fox has said that the cure for Parkinson’s Disease is ‘closer than it’s ever been’.

The much-loved actor was just 29 when he was diagnosed with the degenerative condition after developing tell-tale symptoms – notably a nervous twitching of the fingers – while filming romantic comedy Doc Hollywood in 1991.

And after years campaigning and raising over two billion dollars for the cause, the actor, 61, is optimistic that the disease can be eradicated following a ‘gigantic breakthrough’.

During an interview with Lorraine Kelly on Friday’s Lorraine, he said: ‘I feel it’s [a cure] closer than it’s ever been.

‘I think we’ve found this biomarker which is huge, identifying the disease and therefore being able to treat it earlier.

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Optimistic: Michael J. Fox has said that the cure for Parkinson’s Disease is ‘closer than it’s ever been’

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Illness: The much-loved actor was just 29 when he was diagnosed with the degenerative condition after developing tell-tale symptoms

‘It was a gigantic breakthrough, we didn’t expect to make it this soon. We were working on it for a long time, ten years ago we talked about it.’

Parkinson’s is a disease that causes muscle stiffness, slowness of movement, tremors, sleep disturbance, chronic fatigue, an impaired quality of life and can lead to severe disability.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation is the largest non-profit funder of Parkinson’s disease research in the world, with more than $1 billion of research projects to date.

The Back To The Future star was on the ITV show to promote his new documentary, in which he details living with the condition, as well as life with wife Tracy Pollan, 62, and their four children.

And despite his illness, Michael told how he’s ‘thrilled with life’ and has every reason to smile.

He remarked: ‘I’m thrilled with life, I love life. I’m a very happy person. It’s good, I’m 61 years old and that’s amazing in itself.’

He added of his life: ‘I’m happy. I’m more happy than not. And I think it helps to be silly, I think you’ve got to be silly sometimes in the face of things that are really daunting and threatening.

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Hopeful: after years campaigning and raising over two billion dollars for the cause, the actor, 61, is optimistic that the disease can be eradicated following a ‘gigantic breakthrough’

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Close: During an interview with Lorraine Kelly on Friday’s Lorraine, he said: ‘I feel it’s [a cure] closer than it’s ever been. ‘I think we’ve found this biomarker which is huge’

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Life: The Back To The Future star was on the ITV show to promote his new documentary, in which he details living with the condition, as well as life with wife Tracy Pollan, 62, and their four children

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Grateful: ‘I’m thrilled with life, I love life. I’m a very happy person. It’s good, I’m 61 years old and that’s amazing in itself

‘And you have to be compassionate for the people around you, look at what they’re going through.’

The Teen Wolf star also opened up on his wife of 35 years Tracey, whom he met while both starring on  sitcom Family Ties.

He told Lorraine: ‘When I met her I was kind of doing the show and I was just coming off the movie, everything in the world was mine. The world was my oyster, a hot shot.

‘And then I met this girl from New York who just shut me down and straightened me out and I knew in that moment, that I was in love with her.’

Speaking further about his family life, he went on: ‘Our whole family, I always felt this way [that] Tracy is one of the funniest people on this planet and my kids are all funny.

‘I think funny is our first response to anything. We say ‘What’s funny about this?’. It could be some colossal, horrible thing.

‘We love each other, we have a good time, we laugh a lot.’