TV presenter joins drug trial after being 'ravaged' by Alzheimer’s disease at just 62

She told The Mirror: "This disease has ravaged my family and now it has come for me.

"And all over the country there are people of all different ages whose lives are being affected by it - it’s heartbreaking.

“I just hope I can help find a cure which might make things better for others in the future.”

Phillips is now participating in a drug trial at University College Hospital in London.

She will receive Miridesap three times a day with tiny needles.

Medical experts hope the medication could help slow or even reverse the otherwise incurable illness.

Alzheimer's impacts hundreds of thousands of people across the United Kingdom.

Dementia and Alzheimer's were identified as the leading cause of death in Britain in 2022, the Office for National Statistics has said.

Speaking about the disease, Phillips continued: "There is still an issue with this disease that the public thinks of old people, bending over a stick, talking to themselves.

"But I’m still here, getting out and about, meeting friends for coffee, going for dinner with [her husband] Martin [Frizell] and walking every day."

Frizell, who edits ITV's This Morning programme, added: “Even the people we see for the check ups don’t know if Fiona is on the real drug or a placebo.

“It’s been weeks now and I like to think her condition is stabilising but I am too close to know really, that could just be my wishful thinking.”

Symptoms of Alzheimer's include forgetting about recent conversations or events, misplacing items, forgetting names of places and objects, having trouble thinking about the right word and asking questions repetitively.

The National Health Service identified showing poor judgement, finding it harder to make decisions, becoming less flexible and more hesitant to try new things as other possible symptoms.