Former ITV News presenter Alastair Stewart bravely reveals dementia diagnosis

Alastair Stewart has bravely revealed he has been diagnosed with dementia three years after stepping down from ITV News.

The 71-year-old, who has presented on GB News since 2021, retired from his show Alastair Stewart & Friends in March but has continued to contribute to the channel.

Speaking to Camilla Tominey on the news channel on Sunday, Alastair shared that he started to feel "discombobulated" when doing simple tasks around the house "six to nine months ago."

He visited his GP and relayed fears that he may have early-onset dementia, with his doctor sending him for scans that showed he had suffered a series of strokes and does have the syndrome.

Acknowledging that dementia is "incurable," Alastair however revealed he was taking steps to try and ease the condition.

He has stopped smoking and is taking his family dogs out on longer walks as well as taking on word puzzles to keep the brain active.

To help his memory, he is writing down a lot more notes and said his "very short-term memory is tricky" while "motor skills [are] very tricky".

Alastair told Camilla: "The thing I've found the most difficult thing to deal with is the impact it's had on [my wife] Sally," adding that it was "heartbreaking" to watch the person he loves "almost reduced to a carer".

He said: "I find it tricky because your health through no fault of your own is reducing this person who is the single most important person in your life to the role of a carer."

He later broke down in tears when Camilla told him that the channel's new studios will be named The Alastair Stewart Studio in his honour.

He told the presenter and royal expert: "Did you also want to reduce me to tears because you have just done so.

"I'm deeply honoured and deeply touched by that and I'm looking forward to working from there as we get closer to the election."

Alastair was caught up in a racism row in January 2020 after quoting the line, "Most ignorant of what he's most assur'd – His glassy elegance – like an angry ape" from the Shakespeare play Measure for Measure in an interaction with a Black man on Twitter.

After ITN received public complaints about the post, Alastair announced he would be stepping down as a newsreader for the network after 40 years.

The man who had the interaction with Alastair later said: "I understand that Mr Stewart has acknowledged the words he used were misjudged and has expressed regret at what happened.

"I thank him for that… It is regrettable that he has decided to stand down and I take no pleasure in that."

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