Inside Fiona's ALZHEIMER'S AGONY

The former TV star has lifted the lid on the devastating reality behind her condition

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For more than 15 years, Fiona Phillips was a popular fixture on morning TV, her huge smile and insightful questioning proving a hit with viewers. But the former GMTV anchor shocked the nation in 2023 when she revealed that, like both her late parents, she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, which causes an ongoing decline of brain function, including memory, thinking skills and other abilities.

Now, in a new memoir, Fiona has unveiled the grim reality of the incurable condition, which has left her unable to look after herself, remember things and sometimes even to recognise close family.

She says, 'Everywhere I look there are memories. I know they are there. And yet so many of them feel out of my reach now.'

Likening trying to remember things to 'trying to catch a five-pound note on a gusty day', Fiona, 64, says it has been 'agonisingly difficult' living with the condition.

Marriage strain

In the heartbreaking memoir Remember When: My Life with Alzheimer's, coauthored with her husband, former This Morning boss Martin Frizell, she reveals the toll her condition has taken on their marriage.

Fiona shot to fame in 1997 as co-host of GMTV and a glittering career looked certain. But after losing her mum to Alzheimer's in 2006 and her dad diagnosed with the disease soon after, she took the decision to quit the show in 2008 to spend more time with her family.

The star still dabbled in TV work, including a stint on