TV legend Fiona Phillips has had an incredible career in the spotlight after she rose to fame on morning television show, GMTV Today.
Known for her warm personality and friendly disposition, the 62-year-old star has presented on magazine programme OK! TV and has taken part in BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2005.
But away from the spotlight, mother-of-two Fiona has faced heartbreaking family tragedies including the tragic death of her parents who both suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.
READ MORE: ITV presenter Fiona Phillips reveals she has Alzheimer’s in emotional video
However the bad news hasn’t stopped for Fiona as she recently left the nation stunned after revealing that she has also been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Daily Star has taken a deeper look into Fiona’s heartbreaking past.
Health diagnosis
(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Fiona recently revealed that she’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s is a brain disorder that gradually destroys a person’s memory and thinking skills, and eventually, it can make it harder to carry out simple tasks.
Sharing her heartbreaking story, Fiona told The Mirror that she hopes she is able to find a cure.
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.”
Biggest regret
(Image: MDM)
Sadly Alzheimer’s runs in Fiona’s family, with her mother and father both being diagnosed with the awful condition.
In 2018, TV personality Fiona revealed that one of her biggest regrets in life was not caring for her mum in her home when her condition was becoming worse.
She told the Belfast Telegraph: “My biggest regret is when my mum had early-onset Alzheimer’s (the condition killed her mother Amy at the age of 74 in 2006, and her father Neville, six years later).
“She was getting lost and disappearing. It was terrible, and my dad had it at the same time, so it was an absolute nightmare.
“I just wish I’d had her in my own house, and not in a care home. It was impossible — I was doing breakfast television and I couldn’t just give up my livelihood,” she confessed.
The star also said she had young children and a demanding job at the time but she often has nightmares about what she wished she had done.
Dad’s tragic death
(Image: Channel 4)
Fiona previously admitted that she believes her father was a victim of “manslaughter” as a result of dementia drugs that were administered to him while in hospital.
The TV personality said her dad Neville, died of multiple organ failure after he was placed on a mental health ward.
She said she had seen an “A4 list” of medication that her father was receiving while being treated.
Fiona also claimed her dad received a “dangerous anti-psychotic” before he passed away.
The TV veteran said: “Each time I visited, he’d deteriorated. He piled on weight, couldn’t get up without assistance and was clearly over-medicated.”
However, Fiona said she didn’t want to seek punishment for the treatment of her father at the time “because I didn’t want to cause misery for another human being”.
Depression
(Image: S Meddle/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
In 2017, Fiona revealed that she didn’t feel well enough to take part in Strictly Come Dancing due to suffering from a crippling bout of depression.
The former GMTV presenter spoke candidly about her mental health issues, revealing she was struggling to cope with the enouromous pressures of work and family life while on the show in 2005.
She told The Mirror at the time: “I didn’t seek help – I didn’t have time.
“I was asked to do the first series and the second. Then my agent said, ‘If you don’t do it now you can say goodbye to big gigs at the BBC’, and what have you. There was real pressure.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
