Alastair Stewart's signs he had dementia as he shares diagnosis
Alastair Stewart has shared the signs he had dementia months before his devastating diagnosis.
The 71-year-old news presenter said he first noticed something was wrong about nine months ago when he began to feel “a bit discombobulated”, but didn’t suffer with traditional symptoms of the illness like forgetfulness.
Instead the veteran broadcaster had trouble doing his shoelaces up and making sure his tie was on straight before going on air. He also struggled with the time and had to make a conscious effort not to turn up early or late for things.
TV legend Alastair, who is famous for his work with ITV News and later GB News, announced his retirement in March this year. After presenting local and national news in a career that spanned almost 50 years, he is Britain’s longest-serving newsreader.
Although he occasionally continued to contribute to GB News, he has now decided to step back altogether so he can spend as much time as possible with his family, horses and charities “that have meant so much to me over the years”.
TV newsreader Alastair Stewart retires after record-breaking 50 years on screen
Alastair Stewart was Britain's longest-serving newsreader before his retirement this year (ITV)Appearing on GB News, Alastair said his short term memory had become “tricky”, as well as his motor skills, which he described as “very tricky”. He told GB News presenter Camilla Tominey: "About six to nine months ago I began to feel a bit discombobulated. I wasn't forgetful but things like doing your shoelaces up properly, making sure your tie was straight, remembering the call time for your programme is four o'clock not five o'clock – not turning up early or late – and stuff like that.”
The former news presenter said he suspected he had something wrong “up here” so went to see his GP who was “brilliant” and told him the only way to find out for sure if it was dementia was to have a scan.
Describing it as “like a scene out of Casualty or Emergency Ward 10”, Alastair was shocked to discover he’d had a series of minor strokes called infract strokes. He explained: “Not the big one where your face falls down and your arm goes doolally. But it's like pepper shots and the cumulative effect of that is that I had a diagnosis of early onset vascular dementia."
While there is currently no cure for dementia, Alastair is taking matters into his own hands now he has his diagnosis. He said: "I want to reduce my commitment while I’m still ahead as an old broadcaster, rather than an ancient one. Thankfully the timing is mine; I just want to spend more of it with my family, my horses, and the charities that have meant so much to me over the years."
Alastair was one of the main newsreaders at ITV News for more than 35 years, anchoring News at Ten and providing commentary for special programmes such as Royal Weddings, elections, budgets, and State Openings of Parliament.
He has also reported on huge stories such as the 1980s miners’ strike, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the first Gulf War and was the first British journalist to cover the liberation of Kuwait.
If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Dementia UK.
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