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Anneka Rice almost suffocated father out of ‘love’ as he suffered from Alzheimer’s-Rachael O'Connor-Entertainment – Metro
SHe said her father looked ‘so broken’ lying in hospita.
Anneka Rice almost killed her father as he suffered from dementia but could not bring herself to do it (Picture: Getty Images for The Roundhouse)
Anneka Rice has spoken about watching her father suffer from Alzheimer’s and admitted she considered killing him ‘out of love.’
The presenter, 63, lost her father to the cruel disease , which he was diagnosed with in 2005.
She has now recalled how, ‘through deep love,’ she almost suffocated him when he was in the throes of the illness in hospital.
Speaking on her Radio 4 show Anneka Has Issues, the Strictly Come Dancing star explained how her father had been admitted with a broken hip after he fell crossing the road.
He did not understand what was happening, with Anneka saying he was ‘dazed and confused.’
‘It broke my heart,’ she said.
Anneka visited her father every day, and remembers ‘vividly’ seeing him in the hospital bed, ‘usually so dapper and now so broken.’
She recalled how her father was ‘so broken’ in the hospital bed (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)
‘I looked and I looked deep into my soul, and I looked at the pillow and I took one of his pillows.’
She said she ‘looked round the ward and I held the pillow up.’
‘As all our elderly parents say to us, “please don’t let me linger in pain.”‘
Despite wanting ‘so much to help him,’ the star admitted she couldn’t go through with it, saying ‘Murder I don’t think is naturally in our DNA.’
Anneka stopped briefly to apologise and say the radio show had ‘turned into an episode of Crimestoppers.’
The Challenge Anneka star said she was driven by a ‘deep love’ (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
More information about Alzheimer’s disease
More information about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia can be found at alzheimers.org.uk.
You can contact their support line on 0333 150 3456.
Explaining why she was almost driven to suffocate her father, Anneka said it was ‘through deep love’ and to prevent her dad from experiencing any more pain.
While she also suffered watching her father battle the disease, she was also able to find happy memories, recalling how they ‘lived in grandad’s fantasy world.’
‘Most of the time we were living in grandad’s fantasy health club, waiting for our time in the steam room,’ she recalled with a laugh.
‘Occasionally he’d say “That bloody Valerie Singleton, she’s been in there for hours!”
Anneka was also able to find happy moments as her father fought Alzheimer’s (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
‘We’d all nod sagely and agree that ex-Blue Peter presenters were a bit up themselves.’
In a further devastating twist, Anneka’s mother began showing symptoms of dementia one week after her father died.
There are almost 1 million people in the UK currently suffering from Alzheimer’s, and one in three people will go on to develop it in their lifetime, according to Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Anneka’s revelation comes after it was revealed that her TV programme Challenge Anneka is set to return, which will see her showcasing ‘kindness and community’ on the airwaves.
The original series saw Anneka dropped into a town with no prior knowledge of the area, and race to convince companies and the public to help her with a charitable deed.
The presenter’s popular show has been confirmed to be returning (Picture: ANL/REX/Shutterstock)
The new four-part series will see the 63-year-old TV presenter and her team of volunteers tackle a variety of challenges, celebrate everyday heroes and assist communities in need of help.
Anneka said of the new series: ‘There will always be a room for challenge on television, because it’s about kindness, it’s about community, it’s about the power of the collective.
‘As humans we are totally hardwired to be altruistic.’
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‘The issues might look a bit different today, but they’re not at its heart.’
The original show ran from 1989 to 1995and was was rebooted on ITV for two special episodes that aired in 2006 and 2007.
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