Fiona Phillips made a rare public appearance following her Alzheimer’s diagnosis as she supported her GMTV colleague Kate Garraway at the funeral of her husband Derek Draper.
The former breakfast TV presenter, 62, announced her diagnosis in July, and was accompanied by her husband, This Morning editor Martin Frizell.
Family and friends gathered at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Primrose Hill for a service of remembrance in honour of Kate’s late husband Derek, following his death aged 56.
Derek was among the first in the UK to fall seriously ill with Covid-19 and was admitted to an intensive care unit as the country entered lockdown in March 2020.
The star, who is married to This Morning editor Martin Frizell, was told she had Alzheimer’s in 2022, but only publicly shared her diagosis in 2022.
Fiona Phillips made a rare public appearance following her Alzheimer’s diagnosis as she supported her GMTV colleague Kate Garraway at the funeral of her husband Derek Draper
She has since revealed he was put on a drugs trial in an attempt to slow down the symptoms, something which she says appears to be working for her.
In an interview with Women&Home magazine, Fiona said: ‘I’m on a clinical trial and the signs are positive.
‘I’m taking part in a revolutionary drug trial that’s trying to find a cure. It involves a brand-new drug and a placebo, and I have no idea which one I’m on.
‘When I went for my six-month check-up in October, they did cognitive tests to see where my brain was at, which showed that I was in the same place as I was the previous year.
‘I’m hopeful that the drug is holding the disease where it is. I’d rather not have to be on the trial but I’m very grateful I am.
‘There are risks, including bleeding on the brain, so I’m a guinea pig, but there’s a real chance it could help.’
Fiona, who has two sons with Mark, stunned her millions of fans earlier this year when she revealed that like both of her parents, she had Alzheimer’s.
Yet the star says she is ‘pretending’ that she doesn’t have the illness so she can carry on enjoying her life.
She still meets friends for coffee and goes for walks, though admitted that Mark- her husband of 26 years – worries about her when he’s working.
