In a poignant revelation, Martin Frizell has shared how a deeply moving letter from Kate McCann provided a fleeting respite from his wife Fiona Phillips' Alzheimer's disease. The former GMTV presenter, 65, who is battling early-onset Alzheimer's, experienced a temporary lifting of her cognitive fog upon hearing the heartfelt message.
A Momentary Breakthrough in the Alzheimer's Journey
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, Martin Frizell detailed how an unexpected correspondence from Kate McCann – the mother of Madeleine McCann who was abducted in Portugal in 2007 – created a remarkable interlude in Fiona's progressive condition. "Out of the blue I received a message for Fiona... from Kate McCann," Martin explained, noting that Fiona had interviewed Kate several times throughout her broadcasting career.
"Kate remembered that she was a warm, bubbly and capable lady," Martin continued. "She was sure those attributes must have stood Fiona in good stead." The letter carried additional significance as Martin discovered that Kate McCann, herself a medical doctor, had spent nearly a decade working in NHS Memory Services, drawn to the field partly because of her own father's experience with dementia.
The Emotional Response That Briefly Cleared the Fog
When Martin read the "very long letter" to Fiona, something extraordinary occurred. "Fiona remembered her missing daughter Madeleine and her eyes welled up," he recounted. According to Martin, her Alzheimer's fog "lifted" momentarily, and it was as if she had returned to her GMTV presenting days – embodying the sympathetic maternal figure that viewers had come to know.
This brief window of clarity proved transient, however, with Fiona soon returning to her current state. Martin, who stepped down as editor of This Morning in February 2025 to become Fiona's full-time carer, emphasised the challenges of their daily reality. "She is very dependent on me, perhaps too much," he admitted, "but for my own sanity I try to get out for a coffee for an hour each day and sometimes I manage a day out on a boat."
Understanding Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease
Early-onset Alzheimer's, also known as young-onset dementia, refers to diagnoses received before age 65. According to Alzheimer's Research UK, approximately 70,800 people with dementia in the UK have young onset, with Alzheimer's disease accounting for around one-third of these cases. Experts estimate that at least five in every 100 people with Alzheimer's are under 65, though the actual figure may be higher.
The NHS outlines that Alzheimer's symptoms typically begin with minor memory problems but can progress to include:
- Confusion, disorientation and getting lost in familiar places
- Difficulty planning or making decisions
- Problems with speech and language
- Challenges moving around without assistance or performing self-care tasks
- Personality changes, including becoming aggressive, demanding or suspicious
- Hallucinations and delusions
- Low mood or anxiety
The Daily Realities of Care and Frustration
Martin has been candid about the emotional toll of Fiona's condition, revealing last year that her "biggest frustration" stems from her inability to work. "Fiona's main problem with her Alzheimer's right now is her frustration," he told Loose Women. "She's someone who has worked from the age of 11, at a paper round. Didn't stop working till a couple of years ago when the Alzheimer's made it difficult to do so."
He described how Fiona becomes anxious or frightened when watching television, frustrated that she's no longer working. "This was a fearless woman," Martin reflected. "She spent decades doing this. Seeing her now in that anxious phase is horrible. The whole of Alzheimer's is horrible, as such."
The couple's experiences over the past three years are documented in Fiona's new memoir, Remember When: My Life with Alzheimer's, which includes Martin's candid admission that cancer might have been easier to manage. He has also disclosed that they have secretly employed a carer to support Fiona, who now struggles with daily tasks including dressing, bathing and cooking.
While Kate McCann's letter provided only temporary relief, it represents one of those rare, precious moments that cut through the relentless progression of Alzheimer's disease – a brief connection to the person Fiona once was, remembered by someone who understood both her professional warmth and the profound challenges of memory loss.
