News
Former ITV News presenter Alastair Stewart reveals he has dementia
He spoke about his diagnosis in a TV interview
Former ITV News presenter Alastair Stewart has revealed he has been diagnosed with dementia after nearly five decades on air.
The veteran news presenter, who moved from ITV over to GB News before retiring this year, has shared he has been given the diagnosis of early onset vascular dementia.
The 71-year-old hosted his final episode of Alastair Stewart And Friends, his discussion programme on GB News, in March this year.
Stewart left ITV News in 2020 where he worked for over 35 years and presented a range of news and current affairs programmes including the evening news, lunchtime news, and News At Ten.
Speaking on GB News, on The Camilla Tominey Show On Sunday, he said: “I mean, the headline story, and it is relatively dramatic, I suppose, is that about six, nine months ago, I began to feel one of my favourite words, a bit discombobulated.
“I wasn’t becoming forgetful, but things like doing your shoelaces properly – that’s how I wear these lovely moccasins now – making sure your tie was straight, remembering that the call time for your programme is four o’clock and not five o’clock, not turning up early or late, and stuff like that.
“I then decided at my ripe old age of late 50s, early 60s, that I might have something wrong.”
After a visit to see his GP, Stewart was sent to have a scan which revealed he had suffered a series of ‘minor strokes’ called ‘infarct strokes’, which then led to a diagnosis of vascular dementia.
Following the news, Stewart moved to a ‘contributor contact’ for the GB News channel, where he commentated on the King’s Coronation.
He continued: “The thing I found most difficult to deal with, genuinely, is the impact it’s had on Sally, my wife.
“We’ve been married nearly half a century and, you know, you life partner, your lover, and all those descriptions that are personal and intimate, that person is reduced – I choose my words very carefully – almost to a carer.”
Stewart said Sally, with whom he has four children, and who has worked as a production assistant, had to ensure he was dressed and his ‘tie was done properly’ for the interview.
He added: “So, if you do think that there’s something wrong with you, go and see the GP, listen to what he or she says.
“But also do remember that the people you work with and the people you live with and share your life with are the most important people in the entire world. And they are there if you’re lucky enough, as I was, to help you.”
Alzheimer’s Research UK tweeted the former news reader to say ‘our thoughts are with him’, and praised Stewart for ‘speaking so openly and honestly’ about his experience.