Fiona Phillips’ husband recalled the moment his wife was given a “death sentence” by doctors in 2022. The former GMTV presenter, now 64, was just 61 years old when she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, leaving her husband Martin Frizell reeling when doctors told them both the news.

But in a heartbreaking admission in the couple’s book Remember When: My Life with Alzheimer’s, he confessed his ITV star wife didn’t fully understand the “gut-wrenching” news. After being handed flyers about the disease, Martin realised: “On one level, Fiona knew that she’d been given a death sentence. On another level I don’t think she was able to fully understand the ramifications. It was all too much for her to absorb in the moment.”

Another “sickening” realisation soon followed. Martin confessed that another fear was “lurking” in his mind – that their children would inherit the condition. He wrote: “The thought that these strong young men with their entire lives in front of them might also be facing this death sentence was horrendous – and another reason we couldn’t tell them what was happening.” 

Thankfully, tests confirmed Fiona’s condition didn’t have a genetic link – meaning her sons Nathaniel, 26, and Mackenzie, 23, don’t need to worry about inheriting the progressive brain disorder.

Martin recalled: “It wasn’t me who had been given the death sentence and all I felt was sympathy for my wife. But as time has passed, I came to understand that if I were to fall ill or worse, the whole house of cards would collapse. I have had to stay well for Fiona.” 

Appearing on Newsnight, where he spoke with Victoria Derbyshire, Martin said: “I don’t think Fiona’s ever going to be able to taste a glass of wine again, walk on a beach properly again, go on holiday again, go to the theatre, go to the cinema, drive her car, cook a meal for her children. 

“And my worry is, on her deathbed whenever that may come and hopefully a long time from now, will she even know who we are? There’s no remission for Alzheimer’s.”