Lorraine Kelly was one of the first stars to offer a public display of support to Fiona Phillips,. after the former GMTV presenter revealed she'd been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Fiona's family have already been hit hard by the disease, with her mother, father and uncle all suffering from it and, revealing her owe crushing diagnosis, Fiona told The Mirror: "It's something I might have thought I'd get at 80. But I was still only 61 years old."
Sharing her 'anger' at it happening to her as well, Fiona, who was once a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, added: ""My poor mum was crippled with it, then my dad, my grandparents, my uncle. It just keeps coming back for us."
There has been an outpouring of support for ITV star Fiona after her candid reveal of her Alzheimer's and one of the most high profile people to wish her well is Lorraine, who worked with her for years when Fiona was on GMTV. Taking to Twitter in the immediate aftermath of Fiona's announcement, Lorraine wrote: "As expected our much loved Fiona is dealing with this shattering diagnosis with courage and optimism.
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"She’s a good kind soul and I pray the treatment works and results in a massive breakthrough for everyone dealing with this hellish disease. Sending her and her family all my love."
Lorraine also addressed Fiona's diagnosis live on her ITV show on Wednesday. Right at the start of the show, the host commented: "We start this morning with very sad news. It is really sad news but she’s been amazing. She's been really brave, really optimistic, as she would be. But it's a cruel, horrible disease. It's so blinking sad."
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