ITV News legend Alastair Stewart 'humiliated' over battle with dementia
Alastair Stewart, the renowned ITV News presenter, has candidly discussed the harsh reality of living with dementia following his diagnosis.
The 72 year old, who is celebrated for his work on ITV News and GB News, retired from broadcasting last year after revealing that he had been diagnosed with dementia three years earlier.
In an interview with The Times, Alastair opened up about his battle with the disease, which impacts memory, behaviour, and motor control. He confessed that one of the "cruelties of dementia" is that his wife Sally Ann Jung, with whom he shares four children and has been married to since 1978, has been "reduced" to his carer.
"Sal's my lover, life partner, my wife since 1978, but she's also the person who tells me what time to get up and when to change my shirt," he expressed. "It was Sal who came up with this fabulous expression: she said, 'You've got to come out.' So I did, but I felt dreadful about it. It's humiliating."
Discussing his dementia diagnosis, Alastair disclosed that his agent noticed his emails were unusually "full of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes" while he was working at GB News - and he started turning up for work at incorrect times.
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He opened up about his struggles (Image: PA)"The girls in my production team, who were loyal and brilliant, said, 'It's six in the morning. Do you realise you're not meant to be in until eight? And your shoelaces are undone, your tie isn't done up properly ... you look wrecked. Are you all right?'".
He explained that his appearance "really mattered" after being in people's homes through their telly for so many years.
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Alastair went public with his dementia diagnosis in September 2023, saying to GB News that he started to feel "discombobulated" when doing simple tasks, reports OK!
After undergoing a series of tests, doctors confirmed he had suffered a number of strokes and was indeed suffering from the "incurable" disease.
"The thing I've found the most difficult thing to deal with is the impact it's had on [my wife] Sally," he continued, sharing that it was "heartbreaking" to see the person he loves be "almost reduced to a carer".
window.topArticlesScript="https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/js/dist/article-top-articles20240924.min.js"ITV News legend Alastair Stewart 'humiliated' over battle with dementia
ITV News legend Alastair Stewart 'humiliated' over battle with dementia
ITV News legend Alastair Stewart 'humiliated' over battle with dementia
ITV News legend Alastair Stewart 'humiliated' over battle with dementia
ITV News legend Alastair Stewart 'humiliated' over battle with dementia
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