‘I can’t tie my own shoelaces’: Alastair Stewart describes reality of living with dementia

Alastair Stewart has described how he struggles to tie his own shoelaces in his battle against dementia.

The veteran broadcaster, who was the face of ITV News for more than 35 years before moving to GB News, revealed he had early onset vascular dementia in September last year.

The 72-year-old, who lives in Hampshire with his wife Sally, said many daily tasks are now beyond him.

“I’ve covered the Gulf War and run the very first television leaders’ debate, but now I can’t tie my own shoelaces or choose my own shirt,” he told The Telegraph.

“But there’s no point feeling self-indulgent about it. I won’t condemn myself to an awful life in the short term.”

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Stewart, a father of four, said that his grandchildren keep him going and make him appreciative of life.

The broadcaster was diagnosed with dementia in 2023 after a scan revealed he had had a series of “minor strokes that are called infarct strokes”.

The previous year he had struggled with the knot in his tie and couldn’t tell the time on an analogue clock. He also found it hard to write emails, with poor spelling and punctuation becoming the norm.

Now, he can no longer drive and relies on his wife to get him around and look after him.

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“It is demeaning and soul destroying, and she comes to it from a position of enormous calibre and talent,” he said. “She is a beautiful, intelligent woman. I hate reducing her role in life to being my carer.”

During his career, Stewart covered major stories such as the Beslan school siege, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and numerous elections.

In 1980, he joined ITN as an industrial correspondent and a decade later became Washington correspondent.

Shortly afterwards he was sent to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, to anchor ITN’s coverage of the first Gulf War.

He later became the first UK TV reporter to broadcast live from the liberated Kuwait City.

In 2004, he was named presenter of the year at the Royal Television Society Awards and in 2006 he was appointed an OBE for services to broadcasting and charity.

He is now a spokesperson for Alzheimer’s Research UK to help boost the profile of the charity and push for a cure for Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia.

“Unless Alzheimer’s Research UK is successful in the not too distant future, 50 per cent of us will either have dementia or will be caring for somebody with dementia,” he said.

Urging people to seek medical help if they feel the early signs, he added: “Don’t ignore it. Go to your GP. And if you’ve got it, don’t be ‘Johnny-b*****ks-brave’ about it. Go and talk to somebody.”