Fiona Phillips, the former GMTV presenter, has opened up about the bravest decision of her life: leaving the ITV Breakfast programme. The 65-year-old, who announced her early-onset dementia diagnosis in 2023, said stepping away from broadcasting was her most courageous act.
Struggling with Family Pressures
Speaking to the Daily Express in 2015, Phillips explained she was overwhelmed after her mother's death, while caring for her ill father and raising her children. She said: "The bravest thing I’ve ever done was... leave GMTV. I was doing too much. Mum had died, but Dad was ill and going missing all the time. I was having calls from the police and social services, dashing down to him, missing picking up the kids from school. I had permanent shingles."
Phillips presented GMTV from 1993 to 2008, then briefly hosted radio slots in 2009 before stepping away from broadcasting to focus on family.
Regret Over Mother's Care
In the same interview, Phillips expressed her deepest regret: placing her mother, Amy, in a care home after her Alzheimer's diagnosis. Amy died in 2006 at age 74. Phillips said: "My biggest regret is... putting my mum in a care home. It keeps me awake at night wondering what went on when I wasn’t there. She used to say, 'Make sure I live with you when I’m older. I don’t want to be in a home.' But you can’t manage Alzheimer’s on your own."
Husband's Recent Update
Phillips' husband, Martin Frizell, recently shared a photo of her at breakfast. He wrote about her potential role as health secretary under Gordon Brown, and praised new Prime Minister Andy Burnham for his understanding of Alzheimer's, citing his father's experience. Frizell said: "For decades no-one listened; dementia became the poor relation to cancer, and yet it’s our biggest killer. Sadly it’s taken someone touched by dementia to take it seriously, but how will we afford to treat it properly?"
Frizell, former This Morning editor, stepped down in 2024 to care for Phillips, whom he married in 1997. The couple share two sons, Nathaniel and Mackenzie.
