Lorraine Kelly is amongst the many TV stars who are sending their love and support to Fiona Phillips after her devastating diagnosis. Yesterday (July 4), the journalist and presenter announced she has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at the young age of 62.
Fiona received the news from doctors last year after she began suffering months of brain fog and anxiety. The former GMTV presenter told the Mirror that the disease has 'ravaged' her family, after losing both her parents, grandparents and uncle to the cruel disease.
The mum-of-two, who is married to This Morning boss Martin Frizell, kept her illness a secret for 18 months before deciding to make it public this week. Fiona is now undergoing trials for a new, revolutionary drug which scientists hope could slow or even reverse the illness for millions of sufferers in years to come.
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Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Fiona said: "This disease has ravaged my family and now it has come for me.
"All over the country there are people of all different ages whose lives are being affected by it - it’s heartbreaking. I just hope I can help find a cure which might make things better for others in the future."
“It’s something I might have thought I’d get at 80”, she added. “But I was still only 61 years old. I felt more angry than anything else because this disease has already impacted my life in so many ways."
After the news broke, Lorraine began her self-titled show by addressing the sad situation.
Speaking on Wednesday (July 5) alongside Dr Hilary Jones, Lorraine said: "We start this morning with very sad news. It is really sad news but she has been amazing as you would expect.
"She's been really brave, she's been really optimistic, as she would be," taking a breath, Lorraine then said: "But oh it's a cruel, horrible disease."
Speaking about his ITV co-star's devastating diagnosis, Dr Hilary added: "She doesn’t know what the future will hold or how rapidly it might progress, how effective the trial treatment that she's on will be."
The TV doctor then went through the earlier signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's to alert viewers.
An emotional Lorraine later said: "There's nothing I can say, the word I want to use isn't allowed on television. We're just sending all our love."
