Alzheimer's Has Isolated Us, Says Fiona Phillips' Husband

The hubby of TV presenter Fiona Phillips says they person go socially isolated since her Alzheimer's diagnosis.

Phillips, who hosted ITV's GMTV meal programme, announced successful 2023 that she had been diagnosed pinch Alzheimer's nan erstwhile year, astatine nan property of 61.

In an question and reply pinch nan Daily Telegraph, Martin Frizell, a erstwhile editor of ITV's This Morning show, said: "You go almost invisible."

He added: "We still person immoderate adjacent friends. But I deliberation group think, ohio gosh, Fiona, possibly she doesn't look nan same, aliases they don't cognize what to say, aliases it brings into crisp attraction their ain mortality."

At nan clip of her diagnosis, Phillips said she had suffered months of encephalon fog and worry - and initially had attributed nan symptoms to nan menopause.

"It's thing I mightiness person thought I'd get astatine 80," Phillips explained. "But I was still only 61 years old."

Mr Frizell said he now does not cognize what to do either pinch her cookery books aliases designer apparel - some things she nary longer uses.

"Fiona hasn't cooked successful 2 years," he said.

"Part of nan heartache now is she's sewage this dressing room afloat of nan astir astonishing apparel but this horrible illness intends she's much than happy conscionable wearing nan aforesaid T-shirt, nan aforesaid trousers, nan aforesaid point - time in, time out."

Mother-of-two Phillips has written a memoir since her diagnosis, which is owed to beryllium released connected Thursday.

Mr Frizell contributed to nan book, saying he had intended to constitute "a fewer paragraphs" but ended up penning "24,000 words".

"I started disconnected penning astir what a awesome female she is and conscionable really horrible it is and dreadfully unlucky that she is nan latest successful nan agelong statement of her family to get it," he told nan Telegraph.

"Then I conscionable sewage very angry arsenic to what small support location is. As a family, we conscionable benignant of get done it and astatine immoderate constituent we will request much support, but there's conscionable thing really."

In 2023, Phillips said nan illness had "decimated" her family - pinch her mother, begetter and uncle each receiving a diagnosis.

She had cared for her parents and made 2 documentaries astir nan illness - 1 successful 2009 called Mum, Dad, Alzheimer's and Me, astir her family's history of dementia, and My Family and Alzheimer's successful 2010.

The NHS says nan word dementia encompasses "a group of symptoms associated pinch an ongoing diminution of encephalon functioning".

Alzheimer's illness is nan astir communal origin of dementia successful nan UK - but its nonstop origin is not yet afloat understood. There is presently nary cure for nan disease, though immoderate treatments tin temporarily amended symptoms.

One successful 3 group calved successful nan UK will beryllium diagnosed pinch dementia, according to nan Alzheimer's Society charity.

Speaking to ITV's This Morning connected Friday, Mr Frizell said: "Society has decided we're not going to return it arsenic earnestly arsenic we should.

"The money that's location for Alzheimer's research, it's for illustration buying a Starbucks cup of coffee, fundamentally trying to conflict a disease. It's impossible."

Phillips presented GMTV betwixt 1993 and 2008. She has since led a number of documentaries and episodes of Panorama, and was a columnist for nan Mirror.