As Pauline Quirke reveals dementia diagnosis, Bruce Willis and Fiona Phillips are stars living with it

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Steve Sheen, the husband of Birds of a Feather star Pauline Quirke, released a statement about his wife’s dementia diagnosis.

In the statement, actress Pauline Quirke’s husband Steve Sheen said: “It is with a heavy heart that I announce my wife Pauline's decision to step back from all professional and commercial duties due to her diagnosis of Dementia in 2021.

“Pauline has been an inspiration through her work in the film and TV industry, her charity endeavours and as the founder of the very successful Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts (PQA). Her talent, dedication, and vision have touched countless lives and will continue to do so through the legacy of her work and through PQA where her vision and guidance has facilitated many young peoples’ progression and interest in the Arts and enhanced their self-confidence.”

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Steve Sheen also said: “Her acting career has now come to a close, but PQA, with its network of approximately 250 academies and over 15,000 students across the UK, remains robust and will continue to operate as normal in accordance with Pauline’s ideology. Our experienced senior leadership team will maintain the Academies’ success and growth, building on the foundations, ethos and philosophy that Pauline has inspired from the beginning in 2007.

Pauline Quirke, Bruce Willis and Fiona Phillips are all living with dementia. Photos: Getty ImagesPauline Quirke, Bruce Willis and Fiona Phillips are all living with dementia. Photos: Getty Images
Pauline Quirke, Bruce Willis and Fiona Phillips are all living with dementia. Photos: Getty Images | Getty Images

“We kindly request privacy and understanding for Pauline and our family during this difficult period. For the time being we will not be engaging in interviews or making further statements, since Pauline just wants to spend time with her family, children and grandchildren. We are deeply grateful for the support from her peers, the public, and the dedicated staff and Principals at PQA.”

Unfortunately, Pauline Quirke is not the only celebrity who has been diagnosed with dementia. Hollywood star Bruce Willis and TV presenter Fiona Phillips are just two stars who are living with the disease.

Bruce Willis

Hollywood star Bruce Willis was diagnosed with aphasia in 2022. According to the NHS, “Aphasia is when a person has difficulty with their language or speech. It's usually caused by damage to the left side of the brain (for example, after a stroke).”

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In February 2023, the Willis family issued a statement which read: “As a family, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for the outpouring of love and compassion for Bruce over the past ten months. Your generosity of spirit has been overwhelming, and we are tremendously grateful for it. For your kindness, and because we know you love Bruce as much as we do, we wanted to give you an update.”

The statement also said: “Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD). Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.”

Fiona Phillips

In July 2023, TV presenter Fiona Phillips revealed that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the age of 62. She revealed to The Mirror that she had discovered she had the disease a year ago after suffering with anxiety and brain fog for months. The mother of two also revealed that dementia had “decimated” her family after her mother, father and uncle also had the disease.

Alistair Stewart

In September 2023 retired news presenter Alistair Stewart revealed that he is living with dementia, He told his former colleague Camilla Tominey that "The headline story, and it is relatively dramatic, I suppose, is that about six, nine months ago, I began to feel one of my favourite words: a bit discombobulated," he said.

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"I wasn't becoming forgetful but things like doing up your shoelaces properly - that's how I wear these lovely moccasins now - making sure your tie was straight, remembering that the call time for your programme is four o'clock and not five o'clock, not turning up early or late, and stuff like that."

After talking through his concerns with his GP, it was discovered that Alistair Stewart had had a series of ‘minor strokes,’ known as ‘infarct strokes.’

Kate Lee, the CEO of Alzheimer’s Society, said: “We are so sorry to hear that Alastair Stewart has been diagnosed with dementia and our thoughts are with him and his family.”

Wendy Williams

The former US talk show host Wendy Williams was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, which is the same illness as Hollywood actor Bruce Willis. She was placed under a guardianship since 2022 and has said “I feel like I’m in prison.”

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