I MET Julie Goodyear many moons ago when she was still starring as Corrie’s Bet Lynch.
On screen she was the Rovers barmaid, a force to be reckoned with, who often seemed indestructible despite all the heartache and trials she faced.
FacebookJulie Goodyear was pictured looking painfully frail, with barely any teeth, pulling at her tracksuit bottoms[/caption]
Corrie actress Julie is suffering from dementiaRex
News Group Newspapers LtdJulie’s husband Scott Brand has cared for her since she was diagnosed with the cruel, progressive disease[/caption]
Away from the camera I remember Julie’s amazing presence.
She was glamorous, sharp and quick-witted, all cleavage, fags and blonde hair.
So when I saw a photo of her this week sitting in a chair at home looking painfully frail, with barely any teeth, pulling at her tracksuit bottoms, I was shocked.
It was a picture that I wish I’d never seen. My first reaction was that the old Julie would have hated it.
But I then read the words that her husband Scott Brand had written alongside it when he posted it on social media: “Just got home with my lovely wife and we’ve had a fantastic day together. Thank you so much for all your birthday wishes from both of us.”
Act of love
It made me realise that yes, to us, who haven’t seen Julie every day, this picture may be a shock.
But to Scott — the man who has cared for the actress since she was diagnosed with dementia — it was simply a snap of her looking happy.
Looking at it again didn’t feel so intrusive.
I saw a wife, looking at her loving husband, smiling broadly after a day out for her 83rd birthday while he proudly took her picture.
It was a beautiful moment, but the backlash Scott has received is so ugly he has taken it down.
Which is so sad.
All those who attacked him should be ashamed of themselves.
People have accused him of somehow trying to cash in, but it was just a family snap on his Facebook page, not a paid photoshoot or contrived Photoshopped post placed by an influencer trying to make money.
Strangers have hit out, saying she wouldn’t want to be seen this way — but surely her husband of nearly 20 years knows her better than anyone else.
Instead, Scott should be applauded for reminding us that, celebrity or not, outgoing or not, leopard print or not, dementia can swoop in and seize any of us. At any time.
And it is a cruel, terrifying and progressive disease destroying memory and behaviour.
Carers and sufferers must battle through it together, they have no choice.
There are now more than 944,000 people in the UK suffering with dementia.
And one in 11 people over the age of 65 has it. Those numbers are increasing.
There are now nearly six million unpaid carers in this country. It is one of the toughest, most heart-rending jobs in the world.
It is a gruelling act of love and one none of us would ever wish to do.
But if we are lucky enough to love someone in life, it means that one day we could face doing exactly what Scott is doing now.
Tragically, with the rise in NI contributions hitting the care service, more of us could be faced with that task in the future as wage freezes and cuts lead to a shortage of carers.
What Scott really deserves is thanks.
By sharing this picture he has opened our eyes to a world of dementia that is so often, tragically, hidden away in an oddly shameful way especially when the sufferer is a celebrity.
He has bravely shown that although dementia is not a glamorous condition, there are still moments of happiness along the way.
I hope all those that slated him will now stop to think about all the unpaid carers who are devoting their lives to look after a loved one with dementia.
Often, they are trying their best to do the right thing and struggling in silence.
What they deserve is our thanks and support for everything they do — not our abuse.
Myleene’s basque-ing in sunshine
BASQUES are on trend.
I know this, not because I am a huge follower of fashion but because celebs are squeezing into them wherever they go, so that’s a sure sign.
BackGridMyleene Klass wandering around London when the sun came out[/caption]
GettyHalle Berry on the red carpet to promote her new film this week[/caption]
Myleene Klass wandering around London when the sun came out and Halle Berry on the red carpet to promote her new film this week.
Which means it’s presumably time for the rest of the country to shove one on.
Cue a summer of women looking as though they’re dressed up to appear in an Amsterdam window.
KILLER MUM SO TRAGIC
THE tragic case of Joanne Sharkey has highlighted the true horror of what postnatal depression can do to a woman – and to a family.
Even though she killed her own baby, I pity her.
SWNSThe tragic case of Joanne Sharkey has highlighted the true horror of what postnatal depression can do to a woman – and to a family[/caption]
In 1998 she gave birth to a boy called Callum, having kept the pregnancy a secret due to severe undiagnosed postnatal depression following the arrival of her firstborn Matthew two years earlier.
Sharkey then killed Callum and buried him.
She kept that horrendous act a secret – even from her husband, Neil.
The shock for her husband and surviving son must have been unbearable.
On Friday the judge took pity on her too, giving her a suspended sentence after she admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
To be so ill that you kill your own child is horrendous.
Keeping that secret for 25 years must have been a living hell.
SEXUAL VOYAGE
WHAT would you do if you were told you’re going to die early?
When Molly Kochan was diagnosed with incurable breast cancer at 42, she wanted to make the best of the time she had left, so ditched her husband and slept with 189 men.
InstagramMolly Kochan was diagnosed with incurable breast cancer at 42[/caption]
Her story has just been released as new Disney+ series Dying For Sex, which is based on the podcast she recorded in the weeks leading up to her death.
That six-episode show was downloaded roughly FIVE MILLION times, which presumably means that although not everyone would have the courage to sleep around regardless of their health, many may secretly want to.
BURGER JAM SO WRONG
SO Stormzy has brought out a McDonald’s meal and now his ex Maya Jama has teamed up with Uber Eats to produce her own menu.
The Stormzy Meal features nine chicken nuggets, fries, barbecue dips, a Sprite Zero, and an Oreo McFlurry or apple pie.
Uber EatsMaya Jama has teamed up with Uber Eats to produce her own menu[/caption]
While Maya is trying to put a healthy twist on her Uber menu, which includes a burger with . . . watermelon jam.
She praises it for its anti-inflammatory benefits. I am all for trying to eat healthily but I know which I’d go for.
Sweet jam on a burger? Sounds gross to me.
I DO wish the Wagatha Christie battle would end.
There was yet another hearing this week – three years on from the first one.
Becky Vardy is fuming because she has been told to pay 90 per cent of the £1.8million legal costs for Coleen Rooney’s legal team.
Becky says Coleen’s team “very substantially” understated the original £540,000 bill.
A judge has found no misconduct had been committed but, like a dog with a bone, Mrs Vardy is now appealing against the decision.
So that’s yet more legal bills being run up, and more lawyers laughing all the way to the bank.
More money than sense.
CAULI SNUB A FOLLY
I AM a sucker for a yellow label.
Who doesn’t love saving cash?
Which is why it seems bonkers that the cauliflowers in our supermarkets are being flown in from Europe – presumably costing a fortune – while British ones are being left in fields to rot.
Apparently it’s because ours are smaller, but who cares – most of the time we smother them in cheese sauce anyway.
And what an absolute waste.
If there is one thing that Trump’s tariffs have taught us, it is that there has never been a better time to buy British.
Size isn’t everything.
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