Julie Goodyear’s husband has offered a heartbreaking update on his wife’s health after she was diagnosed with dementia.
Goodyear, 81, went public with her diagnosis last year after discovering last summer that she had the degenerative condition. Julie, who is best known for playing no-nonsense landlady Bet Lynch on Coronation Street, is now said to be “slowly fading away” according to her loving beau Scott Brand.
Brand, 55, admitted that the days of Julie’s iconic leopard print dresses and bright pops of lipstick are well and truly over, as her condition continues to worsen. He added that he feels she is beginning to slip away as the degenerative disease continues to eat away at her.
READ MORE: Corrie’s Julie Goodyear diagnosed with dementia as husband left ‘heartbroken’
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Speaking to The Mirror, he said he “misses” the larger-than-life person Julie has always been, before adding: “Her personality brightened up everywhere she went, and the smile that lit up every room. All of this is now slowly fading away and it’s extremely painful for me to watch this deterioration.”
(Image: Daily Mirror)
He explained that she’s struggling to recognise people and calls everyone Scott. Her classic staples including her leopard print clothing are no longer worn by the beloved actress.
Scott has been by Goodyear’s side since they met over 20 years ago. The pair first locked eyes on each other when Scott delivered some plaster to Julie’s Rochdale home, and have been inseparable ever since. The loved-up couple made their love for each other official by getting hitched in 2007 and have since been together for nearly 17 years.
The iconic actress was a part of Coronation Street for nearly forty years, as Bet Lynch dominated the Rovers’ Return, running a tight ship to make sure punters were being served. She left the ITV titan in November 2003, but not before being awarded an MBE for her services to acting and drama in 1996.
(Image: ITV / Rex Features)
But now, with Julie’s condition continuing to deteriorate, Goodyear has been reduced to relying on a wheelchair, with husband Scott remembering when they used to have romantic getaways and walk along the beach hand-in-hand. “One of the biggest things is our holidays,” Scott explained.
“Julie loved going away and would always look forward to our adventures together, but this has now stopped. We no longer go away, and I can no longer go away either as I would never leave Julie.”
The condition has already affected Scott’s life, as he no longer has the ability or time to relax himself, having given up his job to be a full-time carer. As well as this, he has had to take on the job of sorting finances, which Julie usually had taken care of.
(Image: The People)
“I was suddenly thrown into having to sort out all the household affairs, something Julie had always managed with ease and perfection,” Scott lamented. “It was like being thrown into a new world of having to do everything by myself – I would advise anyone going through this journey to accept help straight away.”
Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer, affecting over one million people in the country at any one time. However, the more poignant figure is that one in every three Brits will develop the disease in their lifetime.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
