Fiona Phillips makes very rare appearance amid Alzheimer's battle after husband opened up on devastating condition

The Irish Sun

7 days ago

FIONA Phillips has made a rare public appearance after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
The popular TV star, 64, appeared in a brief Instagram video shared by her husband Martin Frizell, 66, to thank fans for reading their new book, Remember When.
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Fiona Phillips thanks fans for reading her new book
Credit: instagram/@martinfrizell1
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She is rarely seen in public after her Alzheimer's diagnosis
Credit: instagram/@martinfrizell1
Looking in good spirits as she ate an ice cream in a
London
park, Fiona said: "Hello, thank you for reading my book. It's really good of you. Hope you like it. OK. Bye."
Davina McCall commented: "Oh Fiona!!! So great to see your face ! We've missed you !e and Michael and sending you huge love !!!"
Anna Williamson said: "Sending Fiona so much love. She really looked out for me in my GMTV days, my telly mum and I will never forget how she comforted me when I was going through a tough time in my relationship."
Norfolk
to do my first interview after I was diagnosed with
breast cancer
back in 2008. More than just a colleague… A truly kind, talented and beautiful person!"
READ MORE ON FIONA PHILLIPS
Fiona was
In her new book, Martin heartbreakingly
He told how Fiona became distressed when she asked 'who the man was in the kitchen'.
In an extract published in
Most read in Celebrity
He added: "She became terribly distressed. 'Who's that man in the kitchen?' she asked me. 'That's Nat', I said gently. 'Our son. He's home for the weekend'."
Martin went on: "She was in such a state that she didn't even seem upset that she had asked the question."
Fiona Phillips' husband Martin Frizell gives devastating update on her Alzheimer's battle as he appears on This Morning
He then said that Nat would have been "devastated" to hear his mother was unable to recognise him.
Last week, former
This Morning
editor Martin returned to the show to discuss the book, but
He told hosts
Angry over the lack of coverage given to the condition, which is the biggest killer in the UK, Martin's initial plan to write a few paragraphs soon became 24,000 words.
He said: "
"I just get very angry no one talks about it. We become invisible with Alzheimer's, no one wants to talk about it."
Opening up about Fiona's current condition, Martin said: "She's got anxiety, she's got a secondary problem that causes her to be in a lot of pain, which adds to the confusion."
Tragically, he told how Fiona thought he had kidnapped her just weeks ago as they posed for a photograph outside he family home.
Martin said she suffers from delusions, though does still recognise him, even if she isn't aware of their marital status.
n a candid moment of self-reflection, Martin admitted he wasn't Mother Teresa and was
He accepted some of his work is provocative as he said: "I wish she got cancer, at least there would have been some hope. It's not a sexy disease, the pictures aren't great, on your deathbed you look bloody awful."
Fiona, whose late mum and dad both had Alzheimer's, left GMTV in December 2008 to spend more time with her family.
She took on small
jobs
such as a stint on Strictly Come Dancing in 2005 and presenting a Channel 4 documentary titled Mum, Dad, Alzheimer's And Me in 2009.
But
She was also starting to struggle with mood swings, erratic behaviour and an inability to complete everyday tasks, such as going to the bank.
Things came to a head with Martin in 2021 and he moved out of the family home, accusing her of 'zoning out' of their marriage.
After three weeks apart, the couple met at a hotel and agreed they wanted to stay together — but that things had to change.
Fiona had initially suspected the
But by then, Fiona was wondering if her symptoms were down to menopause.
Martin urged her to talk to telly doctor Dr Louise Newson, who specialised in the menopause and recommended a course of hormone replacement therapy.
But after several months of seeing little change, Dr Newson recommended she be properly assessed.
In 2022, a consultant broke the heartbreaking
news
to the couple that Fiona, then 61, had early onset Alzheimer's.
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Fiona Phillips was distressed after she failed to recognise her own son
Credit: Getty
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Martin write about his wife's Alzheimer's battle in her new book
Credit: Getty
Other major Alzheimer's breakthroughs
While experts have warned that dementia diagnoses in England have reached record numbers, there have been a number of recent advances against brain robbing diseases.
From "game-changing" drugs gaining approval to blood tests that can spot the condition years before symptoms, here are other major Alzheimer's breakthroughs.
A "game-changing" Alzheimer's drug called
A blood test that detects Alzheimer's up to 15 years before symptoms emerge is set to be made
Researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind test that could predict dementia
Scientists have also put AI to the test, developing machine learning models were able to spot early warning signs of the memory-robbing condition
A woman who has evaded Alzheimer's disease despite half her relatives getting it could