Richard & Judy: OUR HEALTH FEARS

The married stars have been feeling anxious about their wellbeing

After celebrating his 67th birthday last week, it seems Richard Madeley is starting to panic about his health as he gets  older. The Good Morning Britain presenter spoke out about his biggest fear when it comes to ageing. ‘Dementia frightens me in ways death doesn’t,’ he admitted. ‘These days, forgetting things comes with a pang of panic. So far, I seem to have avoided it, but the worry won’t go away.’

Richard – who has been married to Judy, 75, since 1986 – also explained that he was given a huge wake-up call when it came to a damaging habit. The star said, ‘I smoked 60 cigarettes a day through my 20s. For decades I failed to quit. That changed when Judy and I interviewed Nigella Lawson’s late husband, John Diamond, who was charting his slow death from smoking-induced throat and oral cancer. Afterwards, I flushed my B&Hs [cigarettes] down the toilet and haven’t touched one since.’

It’s not the first time Richard has been open about health worries. In the past, he has said that he would ‘want to meet it head-on’ should he ever be diagnosed with dementia. He added, ‘People of my generation are twitchy. We pounce on the slightest memory lapse or moment of forgetfulness and ask ourselves, “Is this it? Is this the start of something major?”’