‘I HATE feeling OLD'

As Judy Finnigan takes the necessary precautions against COVID-19, the TV star opens up about struggling to accept help from her children

- GEORGIA FARQUHARSON

Judy Finnigan maybe 71, but the broadcaster has made no secret of how much she hates getting older. So it comes as no surprise that being classed as ‘vulnerable’ and treated like a ‘fragile family heirloom’ during these unprecedented times is a concept that Judy is struggling to accept.

‘It makes me feel old, which I hate,’ she admits – having been forced to cut short a holiday to the Florida Keys with her husband Richard Madeley over the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Now back in Blighty and with the over-70s being encouraged to remain indoors, Judy has no other choice but to accept being treated like a ‘fragile family heirloom’ and revel in the sudden ‘tenderness, love and concern’ extended by her kids…

PRIDE TAKES A BACK SEAT

Like many of Judy’s age, accepting help from her children is something the former This Morning presenter is reluctant to do. ‘I think many of us older “boomers” pride ourselves on our resilience, strength and ability to get things done, and resent finding ourselves classed as vulnerable,’ she explains.

And she’s getting ‘fed up’ of being treated differently. ‘I’ve been astonished by the concern for the health of us oldies shown by the young.

‘They really, really don’t want us to leave the house: they’re terrified of coming anywhere near us, sure that if they do, they’ll kill us,’ she said.