Richard Madeley health as he 'slows down' at work – '60 a day' to dementia fear (2024)

Good Morning Britain's staple, Richard Madeley, raised concerns among viewers after he was notably absent from the popular ITV breakfast show because of health issues.

His co-presenter Kate Garraway updated viewers that Richard had been "poorly" last week. After his return, while in conversation with Olympic gymnast Max Whitlock, Richard opened up about taking it easy with his work commitments and alluded to career longevity mentioning a "hard stop".

Addressing the inevitable slowing down, Richard pondered: "So many careers don't have a hard stop you continue to progress, or you just slowly, quietly as I'm doing filter to a stop. But how do you manage the hard stop?"

Social media users speculated on this statement, with one Twitter user questioning: "Did Richard say he's retiring in that #Olympics segment? Wonder how long he'll stay on #GMB for then..."

Meanwhile, fears around dementia crept into discussions, as Richard and his renowned spouse Judy Finnigan shared their concerns about the disease. Penning her thoughts in The Express, Judy confided: "We're constantly checking ourselves," reports the Manchester Evening News.

Revealing more about their personal vigilance, she wrote: "Is forgetting why we just opened the fridge an early warning sign? Or mislaying the car keys? Or struggling to remember if it was William Hague or Ian Duncan Smith who took over from John Major as Tory leader? Of course, generally it's others family, friends or colleagues who make that first, hesitant diagnosis."

Judy concluded with a stark resolution regarding their approach to any signs of cognitive decline: "If either of us ever thinks dementia has come knocking at the door, it will be a case of, 'Run, don't walk, to the doctor.'"

Richard has shared with The Guardian his deep-seated fears about dementia, stating: "Dementia frightens me in ways death doesn't. These days forgetting things comes with a pang of panic. So far, I seem to have avoided it, but the worry won't go away."

He also opened up about his past '60 a day' smoking habit and how he managed to kick it at the age of 40, attributing his father's early death at 49 to cigarettes. He confessed: "For decades I failed to quit."

The turning point came after an interview with Nigella Lawson's late husband John Diamond, who was suffering from terminal cancer caused by smoking. Richard recounted to The Guardian: "That changed when Judy [Finnigan] and I interviewed Nigella Lawson's late husband John Diamond, who was charting his slow death from smoking-induced throat and oral cancer. Afterwards, I flushed my BandHs down the toilet and haven't touched one since."

Reflecting on that life-changing moment, he said: "I remember after that interview, that was the day, I went back to my dressing room on This Morning and I reached up on to the top of the cupboard and brought [down] my 10 pack of Benson and Hedges, there was eight in there, and I screwed them all up and flushed them down the loo."

Richard Madeley health as he 'slows down' at work – '60 a day' to dementia fear (3)

While speaking on the Dr Hilary Show podcast, Richard delved deeper into his family history of smoking-related health issues, saying: "I think what gave my grandfather, uncle and father their heart attacks, and the one that killed my father, as I said they were heavy smokers. My dad, at one stage, was on two packs a day and he died at 49."

He further detailed the suddenness of his father's passing, revealing: "He came home saying he felt very strange and a couple of minutes later he collapsed into my mum's arms and another minute later he died. It was that brutal."

Richard Madeley faced a challenging time behind the scenes on GMB, as he was forced to conceal a health issue.

He disclosed to The Spectator that he experienced difficulty hearing after suffering from a perforated eardrum during a short-haul flight, which led to deafness in one ear. He had to resort to "lip-reading" while interviewing guests on the show, confessing: "Conducting interviews during my stints co-hosting Good Morning Britain became secret exercises in lip-reading."

Richard Madeley health as he 'slows down' at work – '60 a day' to dementia fear (4)

"Likewise, conversations in crowded restaurants and pubs. I became skilled at pretending I'd heard what people had said." His condition frustrated his wife Judy immensely but fortunately, his hearing miraculously returned "literally overnight" after enduring months of a subdued auditory environment.

Fortunately, Richard is proactive about his health, having witnessed family members deal with heart issues. He told Dr Hilary that he ensures regular health check-ups.

He mentioned, "My blood pressure is very good and my cholesterol level is low. I take a little supermarket bought statin everyday, a little yoghurt, which does help lower cholesterol [and] I have regular health checks. I'm very lucky in that generally I've always been in very good health."

Richard Madeley health as he 'slows down' at work – '60 a day' to dementia fear (2024)

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