Channel 4 icon Jon Snow's wife has said that they think people 'struck him off' following his dementia diagnosis. The legendary broadcaster has been flooded with support in recent weeks after sharing he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's back in 2023. Jon said he went public with his diagnosis to raise awareness.
Jon, who fronted Channel 4 News for more than three decades before retiring in 2021, will feature in a new documentary, 'Jon Snow: A Last Big Story', on Channel 4 later this month. Over one million people across the UK are affected by dementia.
"At the beginning I wanted to hide it, there's so much prejudice. Any sort of hint of mental decay, you're sort of dead. There are moments when it pops up but it's not an all-day, every-day condition, and that's what I cling on to," he told the Daily Mail.
According to the NHS, Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia in the UK. Dementia is the name for a group of symptoms associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning. It can affect memory, thinking skills and other mental abilities.
Jon's wife Dr Precious Lunga has now spoken about some of the surprising reactions people have had to her husband's diagnosis. Appearing on Woman's Hour, she said: "We felt people were striking Jon off. We felt that certainly. It wasn't really due to malice, but a lack of understanding and knowledge about what happens when you have dementia. I think people are also fearful of Alzheimer's because we fear we might get it ourselves, and with fear comes stigma. With stigma you either want to look away or cover up, but making this film … we wanted people to start having a conversation and dialogue about this."
Explaining why Jon went public with his Alzheimer's battle, Precious added: "He said 'if I don't speak out who will?' It is something that affected his own mother and affects so many people. He felt that when someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer's they are written off, but it's not like you fall off a cliff. It's a gradual degradation of the brain. It doesn't mean you still can't contribute to the world and he felt he still had so much to give, which is why he decided to make this documentary."
Following Jon's retirement five years ago, Precious, who is a neuroscientist, said that he went into a 'deep depression' for around six months. However after that, she began to notice that he was becoming 'more forgetful'. "It is a shock when you receive that information and it upended all our plans post-retirement for Jon, and we had to accept our lives were changing," she said.
Precious continued: "What helped me overcome it was the fact I am one of over one million people affected by dementia. That helped me get over the nervousness of telling our story. It is not the end and we are looking for opportunities to enjoy our life… It's not just about surviving – it's about how we can live and thrive. We tend to live in the moment more now too. He is now very present when he's there. Finding that balance is a constant juggle though."
Jon and Precious have been married since 2010 and share a son, who was born in 2021. Jon Snow: A Last Big Story will air at 8pm on Saturday (June 20) on Channel 4.
