Alastair Stewart has spoken about his ‘humiliating’ battle with dementia and the ‘cruel’ reality of living with the disease (Image: ITV)Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy Notice ITV News presenter Alastair Stewart has opened up about the ‘cruel’ reality of living with dementia after being diagnosed. The 72 year old, who is best known for his career on ITV News and GB News, retired from broadcasting last year after announcing that he had been diagnosed with dementia three years prior. In an interview with The Times on Wednesday 25 September, Alastair spoke about his struggle with the disease, which affects memory, behaviour and motor control. He admitted that one of the “cruelties of dementia” is that his wife Sally Ann Jung, who he shares four children with after marrying in 1978, has been “reduced” to his carer.
Alastair Stewart revealed last year that he had been diagnosed with dementia
(Image: PA)
“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 said. “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.” Opening up about being diagnosed with dementia, Alastair revealed that his agent noticed that his emails were uncharacteristically “full of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes” while he worked at GB News – and he began to arrive at work at the wrong time. “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?’ “I’ve always been arrogantly immaculate. I’ve been lucky enough to have been in people’s homes telling them what’s going on in the world for 45 years, so my appearance really mattered to me.” Sign up to OK!’s daily newsletter to get updates sent to your inbox for free
Alastair shared that his wife becoming his carer has been “humiliating” for him
(Image: ITV)
He added that when his GP gave him the diagnosis, it felt “like a bereavement” for the broadcaster. “Part of me has died. I profoundly miss being at work, talking about news and current affairs every day,” he said. Alastair went public with his dementia diagnosis in September 2023, telling GB News that he started to feel “discombobulated” when doing simple tasks. After undergoing a series of tests, the results showed that he had suffered a series of strokes and did have 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,” adding that it was “heartbreaking” to watch the person he loves “almost reduced to a carer”.Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnITV
