Martin Frizell, former ITV executive, has opened up about the intimate and often heartbreaking realities of caring for his wife, Fiona Phillips, who is living with Alzheimer’s disease. Once at the helm of some of the UK’s biggest daytime shows, Martin, now 66, left his role as editor of This Morning to become a full-time carer for Fiona, 64, after her diagnosis.
In extracts from Fiona’s upcoming memoir Remember When: My Life With Alzheimer’s, Martin provides a raw account of their transformed life. Married since 1997 with two children, the couple now face each day with routines dominated by Fiona’s care.
Martin described how Fiona, once a household name on GMTV, now needs help with even the most basic tasks. “She needs a lot of help,” he said. “I wash her hair because she wouldn’t know what shampoo to use or how to rinse. I brush her teeth. I lay out her clothes, because she may put them on backwards or inside out.”
Despite still being physically capable, Fiona struggles with sequencing daily tasks. “She can brush her teeth, but doesn’t remember how. I’ll put the toothpaste on and hand her the brush,” Martin explained. “She often resists because she doesn’t like being told what to do. But I have to persist – the last thing she needs is a tooth infection while vulnerable.”
He also noted that Fiona tends to get attached to specific items of clothing, wearing them repeatedly if not guided otherwise. Every step of their day is filled with quiet challenges – and quiet love.
In an especially raw confession, Martin admitted: “Being brutally honest, I wish Fiona had been diagnosed with cancer instead. At least then she might have had a treatment plan, a pathway. With Alzheimer’s, you’re left to cope alone.”
He lamented how little support there is for families battling the disease. “Bit by bit, Alzheimer’s takes everything. Even the most glamorous star, like Fiona was, slowly fades,” he wrote. “I now realise that if I get ill, the whole house of cards collapses. I have to stay well for her.”
Their love story began at GMTV, where Fiona worked as a presenter and Martin was a correspondent. Just four weeks into dating, he proposed, and they married in Las Vegas in 1997. Today, their bond is tested in the hardest way – not by fame or pressure, but by time, illness, and quiet resilience.
