Julie Goodyear’s husband has given an update on the 81-year-old’s dementia battle after the Coronation Street icon revealed her diagnosis last year.
Goodyear, best known for starring as Bet Lynch in the ITV soap, is “slowly fading away,” according to her husband Scott Brand.
The beloved soap star became a household name as the landlady of the Rovers Return pub in Britain’s longest-running soap.
Brand stated: “I miss the fun-loving wife that Julie had always been – the larger-than-life personality that brightened up everywhere she went, and the smile that lit up every room.
“All of this is now slowly fading away and it’s extremely painful for me to watch this deterioration. Julie now struggles recognising people and everyone she meets is called ‘Scott.’”
Speaking to The Daily Mirror, he continued: “Julie has always been extremely glamorous, going nowhere without her makeup," but detailed how these things are no longer a part of her personality.
The actress is best-known for her Coronation Street role
ITV
The couple got married in 2007, with Brand meeting her when he delivered some plaster to her Greater Manchester home to help her renovate.
Goodyear joined Coronation Street as one of the soap’s first characters in 1966, she became a signature personality on the soap before waving goodbye to the cobbles in 2003.
The actress was awarded an MBE for her work in 1996. Her 55-year-old husband went on to tell the publication how he misses holidaying with his wife.
“Julie loved going away and would always look forward to our adventures together, but this has now stopped,” he heartbreakingly revealed.
Julie's husband has given a heartbreaking update on her health
Getty
Brand gave up his career to care for his wife full-time, describing how exhausting his life now is.
“Caring for Julie is my priority, but my health was being affected and as a lone carer I felt it was killing me,” he added.
“Julie had always dealt with the finances but now she cannot even recognise the value of money.
“I was suddenly thrown into having to sort out all the household affairs, something Julie had always managed with ease and perfection.”
The couple are now getting behind a TV advert from the Alzheimer’s Society called The Long Goodbye.
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Goodyear and her husband have backed a powerful ad by the Alzheimer’s society
Getty
The charity, which Brand says has been a “lifeline” for them, will be told by actor Colin Firth.
It shows how the condition makes sufferers “die again and again and again.”
Goodyear’s diagnosis was revealed last June, where Brand stated: “My darling wife and I have had to come to terms with this heartbreaking diagnosis.”