Fiona Phillips, an ITV broadcaster, has stated that she has Alzheimer’s disease.
After months of brain fog and worry, the 62-year-old journalist was diagnosed with the condition a year ago.
She is presently undergoing trials as part of a scientific investigation into a breakthrough cure.
Confirming her ‘heartbreaking’ diagnosis to The Mirror, columnist Fiona said the disease has ‘ravaged’ her family and has now ‘come for’ her, having previously lost both of her parents to Alzheimer’s.
‘And all over the country there are people of all different ages whose lives are being affected by it – it’s heartbreaking,’ she said.
‘I just hope I can help find a cure which might make things better for others in the future.’
‘It’s something I might have thought I’d get at 80. But I was still only 61 years old,’ she added.
The former breakfast TV host continued: ‘I felt more angry than anything else because this disease has already impacted my life in so many ways; my poor mum was crippled with it, then my dad, my grandparents, my uncle. It just keeps coming back for us.’
Fiona’s husband, TV’s This Morning editor Martin Frizell, 64, was beside her during the interview, agreed that Fiona’s family has been ‘ridden with it’ and that receiving the diagnosis at her age was a ‘huge shock’ for them both.
After keeping her illness a ‘terrible secret’ for 18 months, the GMTV host has opted to discuss it publicly now.
‘No one has known because I haven’t been blaring out loud, “Oh yeah, I’ve got Alzheimer’s”. And I have been so worried people will judge me or put labels on me.’

However, the mother of two, Nat, 24, and Mackenzie, 21, felt she could no longer hide her illness.
So, by sharing her experience, she hopes to combat stigma and spark dialogues.
‘There is still an issue with this disease that the public thinks of old people, bending over a stick, talking to themselves.
‘But I’m still here, getting out and about, meeting friends for coffee, going for dinner with Martin, and walking every day.’
Fiona rose to prominence as the host of GMTV in the late 1990s.


She then appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2005, with Brendan Cole as her partner.
Viewers may also recall her as a Loose Women panellist in the 2000s, her work as a presenter on BBC One’s Watchdog, or her agony aunt column in New! magazine.
More information about Alzheimer’s disease
More information about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia can be found at the Alzheimer’s Society website: alzheimers.org.uk.
You can contact their support line on 0333 150 3456.