Fiona Phillips diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease at the age of 62
The former TV host has revealed the news in an interview
Last updated 5th Jul 2023
Former breakfast TV presenter Fiona Phillips has announced she's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease at the age of just 62.
Fiona, who is famed for appearing on ITV news show GMTV between 1993-2010, revealed her heartbreaking diagnosis during a chat with The Mirror, where she confirmed she was diagnosed last year after months of anxiety and brain fog.
She said: "This disease has ravaged my family and now it has come for me. And all over the country there are people of all different ages whose lives are being affected by it - it’s heartbreaking. I just hope I can help find a cure which might make things better for others in the future."
The TV host admitted to the publication she had feared the diagnosis due to the disease running in her family, but she was still left in shock when she was given the results by the doctor last year. She said: "It’s something I might have thought I’d get at 80. But I was still only 61 years old.
"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, who is a mum to 24-year-old Nat and 21-year-old Mackenzie, has chosen to make her diagnosis public after keeping it private for the last 18 months, hoping she can help end the stigma around Alzheimer's Disease.
She added: “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 was joined in the interview alongside her husband, 64-year-old editor Martin Frizell, who spoke candidly about his wife's diagnosis.
He told the publication: “It all started with Fiona feeling crippling anxiety towards the end of 2021.
“We thought maybe it was the menopause because all the symptoms were there; brain fog, anxiety and confusion. We got in touch with a menopause specialist who took her under their wing and put her on HRT but while that improved some symptoms, the brain fog remained.”
Upon receiving the diagnosis, Martin added: “I just felt sick. We both sat in silence. There was no funny line to make this go away. Nothing smart to say. Nothing. And then the doctor said he’d leave us in the room alone for a bit to digest it all. We just looked at each other and said: ‘S--t. What are we going to do?'"
Fiona said: “It was the shock.. Total shock. And then we said to each other.. ‘Shall we go and have a drink?' So that’s what we did. In fact we’ve now become locals at the pub on the square by the hospital!”
Fiona has revealed she's now taking part in trials for a new drug which scientists hope could slow or help reverse the damaging illness in the years to come.
If you'd like more information or support about Alzheimer's Disease, visit Alzheimer's Society.