By Democrat reporter
F1 motor racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart has revealed his wife Helen can no longer walk in a heartbreaking update on her battle with dementia.
Appearing on Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain, the F1 legend, 83, joined presenters Susanna Reid and Ed Balls to discuss the charity he set up in light of his wife’s diagnosis, Race Against Dementia.
After referencing Sex Pistols star John Lydon’s interview on Monday, in which he had noted the need to “be in the moment” while taking care of his Alzheimer’s-stricken wife, Nora, Ed and Susanna were keen to hear about Jackie’s wife.
“How is Lady Helen?” Ed asked, to which Jackie explained she was “wonderful” but he also had bad news.
“She’s wonderful, of course, she can no longer walk, sadly,” he responded. “And now if I have a chat with her as I do a lot, obviously, very quickly the last conversation disappears.”
The sporting legend, who is originally from Dumbarton while Helensburgh is from Helensburgh where her parents owned McNeill’s baker’s shop in James Street, added: “So memory is one of the things that recognises dyslexia.
“Helen was identified [as having dementia] about seven years ago, but it’s now pretty bad, and she has a birthday actually, coming up this weekend on Saturday.
“She doesn’t want to hear this, but she is, I think, going to be 82.”
Ed and Susanna smiled as the three-time world champion went on to describe Helen as still being “fantastically attractive”.
“She’s always been a great looker,” he added lovingly.
“And that point John [Lydon] was saying, you can’t talk easily about what we did an hour ago and you can’t talk about what you’ll do in an hour. It all has to be about being there in that moment,” Ed remarked.
“And giving her a good time,” Jackie replied. “We are very lucky.
“I am very, very fortunate because of my racing career, I can afford to have seven neuro nurses looking after Helen.”
Jackie Stewart’s class at Dumbarton Academy in the 1950. Can you pick him out? I can identify John Welsh, who became head of CID for Strathlcyde Police, and Billy Grainger, who was manager of the Rialto Cinema, standing together on the extreme right in the back row. I can’t pick Jackie out though. You can e mail me if you can at heaneymedia@btinternet.com Top picture is of Jackie and Helen together.