TV presenter Fiona Phillips’ husband has revealed that her Alzheimer’s condition was ‘briefly lifted’ by a moving letter from Kate McCann.
The former ITV Breakfast GMTV Today presenter, 65, suffers from the progressive, neurodegenerative brain disorder, which is the most common cause of dementia.
Now in the advanced stages of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, her husband Martin Frizell has been open about the challenges.
This week, he has said that a message from Kate, the mother of Madeleine McCann who was abducted in Portugal in 2007, momentarily helped her.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Martin said: ‘Out of the blue I received a message for Fiona… from Kate McCann [who she had who interviewed several times over the years].
‘She remembered that she was a warm, bubbly and capable lady. Kate was sure those attributes must have stood Fiona in good stead.
‘I didn’t realise until I read the letter that Kate McCann, herself a doctor, had spent almost ten years in [NHS] Memory Services, largely drawn to it because of her dad, who also had dementia.’
Martin said that when he read Fiona the ‘very long letter’ from Kate, Fiona remembered her missing daughter Madeleine and her eyes welled up.
According to him, he said that her Alzheimer’s fog ‘lifted’ and it was as if she was back on GMTV as a presenter being a sympathetic mum.
What is early-onset Alzheimer's disease?
Early-onset Alzheimer’s is also known as young-onset dementia or younger-onset Alzheimer’s. It is the label given to anyone who receives a diagnosis before they turn 65.
According to Alzheimer’s Research UK, an estimated 70,800 people with dementia in the UK have young onset, and Alzheimer’s disease accounts for around one in three cases of young onset dementia.
It is thought at least five in every 100 people with Alzheimer’s are under 65, however the figure may be higher.
According to the NHS, the symptoms of Alzheimer’s can begin with usually minor memory problems, but can develop into:
- confusion, disorientation and getting lost in familiar places
- difficulty planning or making decisions
- problems with speech and language
- problems moving around without assistance or performing self-care tasks
- personality changes, such as becoming aggressive, demanding and suspicious of others
- hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not there) and delusions (believing things that are untrue)
- low mood or anxiety
However, after a brief moment, the fog cleared away and Fiona returned back to how she was.
Martin, who stepped down as editor of This Morning in February 2025 to take care of Fiona, also told the publication that she is ‘very dependent’ on him.
He said: ‘She is very dependent on me, perhaps too much, but for my own sanity I try to get out for a coffee for an hour each day and sometimes I manage a day out on a boat.
‘Try as I might, though, I still worry about whether she’s all right back home.’
Last year, Martin revealed his wife’s ‘biggest frustration’ following her diagnosis.
Speaking on Loose Women, he said: ‘Fiona’s main problem with her Alzheimer’s right now is her frustration.
‘She’s someone who has worked from the age of 11, at a paper round. Didn’t stop working till a couple of years ago when the Alzheimer’s made it difficult to do so.
‘She’ll watch telly and she’ll get frustrated that she’s not working. She’ll get anxious or frightened thinking about it.
‘This was a fearless women. She spent decades doing this. Seeing her now in that anxious phase is horrible. The whole of Alzheimer’s is horrible, as such.’
An experience account of what the couple has been through over the past three years is recorded in the GMTV star’s new memoir, Remember When: My Life with Alzheimer’s, which includes Frizell’s confession that cancer would have been easier to deal with.
He also explained that they have secretly hired a carer to support Phillips, who is now struggling with daily tasks including dressing, bathing and cooking.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
