Fiona Phillips seen for the first time in a YEAR as she bravely battles Alzheimer’s
FIONA Phillips has been seen for the first time in over a YEAR as she continues to bravely battle Alzheimer's.
The broadcaster and TV presenter, 64, was diagnosed with the disease in 2022, and shared her health news publicly in 2023.
Fiona was seen smiling in a new snap to promote her upcoming book, Remember When: My Life with Alzheimer's.
The journalist was seen with her husband and former This Morning producer Martin Frizell, 66, at Kate Garraway's late husband Derek Draper's funeral last February.
In the new photo, Fiona was dressed in a beige turtle neck jumper with a black coat as she posed for a photo in the street.
The memoir, which which will be released on July 3 through publishers Pan Macmillan, will teach the important insight into living with the disease in the hope that it will help others.
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Fiona had cared for her parents who had both suffered from the disease and is now facing the same diagnosis.
The TV favourite previously spoke candidly about her diagnosis.
She said: “I wonder if all the years of getting up so early contributed to me developing Alzheimer’s so young.
"Getting my diagnosis was devastating.”
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She is now taking part in a clinical trial for a new treatment and said the “signs are positive”.
In an interview with the Woman & Home magazine, she added: “It involves a brand new drug and a placebo.
“I have no idea which one I am on.
“When I went for my six-month check-up, they did cognitive tests to see where my brain was at, which showed I was in the same place as I was the previous year.
“I’m hopeful that the drug is holding the disease where it is.”
Despite the diagnosis, Fiona says she is trying to keep positive.
She added: “I’m not giving it any space in my life at the moment.
“I’ve still got so much I want to do.
“I’d rather this hadn’t happened but it has and I’m going to deal with it in the best way I can.
“I am determined to live the best life I can.”
Fiona has two sons, Nathaniel, 25, and Mackenzie, 22, with husband Martin Frizell.
She said: “My sons have been incredible about my diagnosis.
“I thought they may be scared or treat me differently, but I couldn’t have asked for a better reaction.
“They’re much more affectionate with me now, and they’ll sit and cuddle me while we’re watching telly. It’s lovely.”
Fiona started her broadcasting career at local radio stations before becoming a presenter for CNN.
She appeared as a panellist on Loose Women, and has been a reporter on Watchdog and helmed Lorraine.
Fiona is best known for being the lead anchor alongside Eamonn Holmes on GMTV in the 90s and early noughties.
She joined the show in 1993 as entertainment correspondent, but hit the big time when she was promoted to being the ITV breakfast show's main host.
But in August 2008, Fiona announced that she was to leave GMTV for "family reasons".
She said: "I love the job but I've got other responsibilities - the children, a home life and an elderly dad who needs me - and I've recognised that I can't have it all."
She presented her final show on December 18, 2008.
In January 2022, she revealed that she was too frightened to return to TV due to an ongoing battle with "brain fog" during menopause.
When has Fiona Phillips said about being diagnosed with Alzheimer's?
In July 2023, Fiona Phillips revealed that she has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's at the age of 62.
She told : "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."
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She continued: “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.”
