To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatsupports HTML5video
Former Emmerdale actress Charley Webb has detailed her mother’s battle with dementia days after Julie Goodyear’s diagnosis was revealed.
From 2002 to 2021, Charley, 35, portrayed the role of Debbie Dingle in the ITV soap opera.
But back in 2015 her family was rocked by the news that her mum Helen had dementia aged just 64.
Now, a few days after Julie’s diagnosis was shared publicly, Charley has spoken about the impact the disease can have on families.
Appearing on This Morning as a supporter of Alzheimer’s Research UK on Friday, Charley explained how life was now ‘unrecognisable’.
Recalling how her mum first started ‘forgetting big things’, Charley said how she quickly realised something wasn’t quite right.
‘At first other people thought I was being dramatic but I just knew in my gut that something wasn’t right,’ she said.
Pregnant with her second child at the time, she described the experience as ‘traumatic’ as the family battled to get a diagnosis, which she said was ‘difficult and very hard’, while at the same time Helen was also in ‘denial’.
‘They looked for everything before they did the tests because I don’t think they thought it could be that, so it was a very long and drawn out process,’ she said.
‘I think even thought I knew something was wrong the diagnosis was still such a shock.’
Explaining how heart-breaking it was to see the changes in her mum, Charley continued: ‘She had a big personality and was much wilder than me and was amazing and I think seeing that decline has been awful.’
‘She was always very glamorous and you lose them right before your eyes and I think that is the hardest thing – you grieve for the person they were even though they are still there.’
After keeping the health battle private for eight years, Charley spoke about it publicly for the first time earlier this year.
‘One in two people will either be diagnosed with dementia or care for someone with it which is frightening,’ she said.
Describing how her family had received little assistance after the diagnosis, she said they had gone through ‘eight years of hell’.
Helen has now gone into a home, which Charley said was ‘the hardest decision we ever had to make’.
She called for more support and funding, adding she didn’t want her children to have to go through the same difficult experience.
Her comments come after Julie’s husband Scott Brand released a statement earlier this week saying: ‘My darling wife and I have had to come to terms with this heart-breaking diagnosis.’
He went on to explain that she had been ‘suffering forgetfulness for some time’ and while they had ‘been seeking medical advice and assistance’, there was ‘no hope of a reversal in the situation’.
While it was explained the former Coronation Street actress, who played Bet Lynch, loved meeting fans, she could ‘get confused’ at times.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
Source: Read Full Article