02 December 2023 , 07:58
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Fiona Phillips has admitted she wonders if years of early morning starts for GMTV may have contributed to her developing Alzheimer's disease.
The brave TV star first revealed she had been diagnosed with dementia with the Mirror in July. And, in a new interview, the 62-year-old has given an update and revealed her fears her 15 year career on morning television may have contributed.
Fiona spent more than a decade waking up at 3.30am to present ITV breakfast programme, GMTV – after she joined in 1993 before becoming the main anchor in 1997. Fiona left the programme in December 2008.
Speaking in an interview, Fiona pondered: "I ask myself why I got this dreadful disease. I wonder whether all the years of getting up so early when I was working on GMTV contributed to me getting Alzheimer’s so young. Getting my diagnosis was devastating."
Fiona admits she asks herself how she developed dementia (woman&home)
The TV star said she has wondered if early morning wake-ups for GMTV have contributed (woman&home)Fiona now hopes a drug trial she is taking part in will slow the disease's progression. She told woman&home magazine: "It involves a new drug and a placebo – and I have no idea which one I’m on. When I went for my check-up in October, they did cognitive tests, which showed that I was in the same place as I was the previous year. I’m hopeful the drug is holding the disease where it is."
Ten tips to deal with life and help your loved ones after Alzheimer's diagnosis
However, the brave TV star is determined not to let dementia define her or stop her from living her life. "I’ve got big plans for 2024," she said. "I have made a plan to travel. Martin and I may downsize and spend the kids’ inheritance travelling." Fiona is married to ITV's This Morning boss Martin Frizell and the pair share two children together.
In September, Fiona told the Mirror she was trying to carry on with her life as much as possible – after Alzheimer's 'slaughtered' her family. The TV star lost both mum Amy and dad Neville to the degenerative illness.
TV host Fiona Phillips says she plans to travel the world next year (Daily Mirror)Amy, who was a nurse before working in a department store, started developing the early onset of the condition at the young age of 53, before she died tragically in 2006, aged 74. Whereas her father was found to have the same condition in his early 60s, and he passed away in 2012, aged 76, after spending the end of his life in a warden-assisted flat, before moving to a psychiatric hospital.
She said: ""I’m living with it by not letting it ruin things. I am just carrying on as much as I can. It’s when I talk about it that i can’t quite believe I’m talking about myself - I’m used to talking about it in relation to my mum and my dad having it.. my whole family have been slaughtered by it. I’m not sure if the drugs are working or not.. I don’t think anyone would know there is anything wrong with me.. but who knows? Would they?"
The January Christmas issue of woman&home is on sale from December 7.
Help the Alzheimer’s Society be there for everyone affected by dementia this Christmas. Go to alzheimers.org.uk/christmas