BARBARA WALTERS, 91, DEMENTIA HEARTBREAK

Beloved TV news icon is tragic prisoner of mind-robbing illness

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ICONIC TV news gal Barbara Walters was sharp as a tack when she grilled the world’s biggest leaders, but ravaging dementia has now tragically turned the 91-year old into a prisoner in her own bed, say sources.

“Her friends suspect her health plunged three years ago when she stopped posting on social media,” spills an insider.

“Now everyone is fearing the worst — that the end is near.”

Barbara retired from ABC’s The View in 2014 and now can’t recall her glory years as a groundbreaking TV journalist, who questioned political kingpins like Cuba’s Fidel Castro, Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, spies dish.