Fiona Phillips attending a special screening of He Named Me Malala in London.

Former ITV presenter Fiona Phillips announced in 2023 that she had been diagnosed with early onset dementia, after initially thinking she was having menopause symptoms when she first started experiencing “brain fog and anxiety”

Former GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips is to open up about her life with Alzheimer’s in a new book following her diagnosis with the condition.

The 64-year-old will release Remember When with the help of her husband, former This Morning editor Martin Frizell and long-time friend and former Mirror editor Alison Phillips, through publishers Pan Macmillan on July 3.

Speaking about the new book, Phillips said: “I hope this book can show people a little about what it is like to live with Alzheimer’s.”

“How frightening and confusing it is. But also how much life can still bring joy and be valued. And if you or someone you love is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, I hope this book brings you some comfort. I want you to know, you are not alone.”

The book aims to help others who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, as Phillips speaks about early warning signs and her gradual loss of memory and confusion, while her husband Frizell also shares his experience.

Fiona Phillips has announced the release of her new book Remember When ( 
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The journalist and TV presenter went public with her health battle in 2023 ( 
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PA Archive/PA Images)
The Kent-born journalist announced in 2023 that she had been diagnosed with early onset dementia, after initially thinking she was having menopause symptoms when she first started experiencing “brain fog and anxiety”.

Phillips cared for her parents after both of them were also diagnosed with the condition.

She has made two documentaries on the condition in 2009’s Mum, Dad, Alzheimer’s And Me, about her family’s history of dementia, and My Family And Alzheimer’s (2010).

She has also served as an ambassador for Alzheimer’s UK. Speaking about Phillips’s new book, Ingrid Connell, publishing director at Pan Macmillan, said: “As a broadcaster, Fiona was known to be warm, empathetic and honest, and those very qualities are what makes this book stand out.”

“She refuses to sugar-coat the truth about Alzheimer’s and her positivity and desire to help others impacted by the disease are inspirational.”

Phillips quit TV in 2018 after she started to suffer from anxiety, having presented GMTV from 1993 to 2008, before going on to head up a number of documentaries and episodes of Panorama, she was also one of the Mirror’s longest-serving columnists.

Her husband Martin Frizell announced in November he was stepping down from his role as editor of ITV’s This Morning after more than a decade.

He said: “Next year I’m expecting my family priorities to change, so I need to free up time for them. I love my team at ITV and will miss them, and the thrill of live telly, but it’s an always on, 24 hours a day, seven days a week commitment, and I won’t be able to do both.”

Fiona Phillips and husband Martin Frizell attend the National TV Awards at the Royal Albert Hall ( 
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Fiona Phillips and Martin attended the funeral of Kate Garraway’s husband Derek Draper together in one of their last public appearances ( 
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PA)

He added: “It’s been a privilege to lead truly great presenters and producers, between us we’ve turned out more than 6,000 hours of live topical telly, that’s around 20,000 items, and the gongs are always nice.

“I’m most proud of the change we made to so many lives, even saving a fair few with our campaigns on anti-suicide, menopause, testicular cancer and ‘how – to’ items. This juggernaut is the toughest test for any broadcast journalist.”

He joined ITV in 2014 as the editor of daytime show Loose Women and will leave This Morning in spring 2025.

Fiona previously said she thought she was having menopause symptoms when she first started experiencing “brain fog and anxiety”, but last year she was diagnosed with the disease.

When speaking out about her condition in July, Phillips said she has three daily injections as part of drug trials at University College Hospital in London which could revolutionise treatments for people with Alzheimer’s.

On World Alzheimer’s Day on Thursday, the Alzheimer’s Society ambassador said: “I’ve always spoken out about Alzheimer’s whether through a book, a documentary or lobbying prime ministers and now that it’s turned up on my doorstep I’m not for stopping.

“It’s devastated my family and it’s the biggest health and social care challenge we face as a country.

“It already costs the UK £37 billion, set to rise to £94 billion by 2040, and yet our brilliant doctors and scientists still struggle for funding.

“It’s not just funding for a cure that’s being sought but simply treatments that prolong quality of life. I’m on a drug trial with UCLH myself; researchers desperately need more funding and if me speaking out about it concentrates minds, then all the better.”