Fiona Phillips is opening up like never before, not just about her journey with Alzheimer’s, but also about a part of her past that still carries emotional weight—her time on Strictly Come Dancing back in 2005.
As she prepares for the release of her memoir, Remember When: My Life With Alzheimer’s, the veteran broadcaster is sharing stories that paint a more personal and raw picture of her life in the spotlight.
“I Blocked It Out”: The Strictly Experience She’d Rather Forget
Looking back on her time on Strictly, Fiona revealed that she has very few memories of those weeks—and she believes that might not be accidental.
Recalling her experience with professional dancer Brendan Cole, she described it as emotionally overwhelming and deeply distressing.
She said that seeing old footage again brought back difficult feelings, especially clips where Brendan appeared to be shouting and berating her during rehearsals.
In one moment, she recalled him snapping, “Pathetic, it’s not good enough,” while she begged him to stop yelling, feeling humiliated and out of place.
“There’s even a clip,” she wrote, “where I tell the cameraman Brendan is looking at me like he’s stepped in something.
I honestly don’t remember much else—maybe because I tried to block it out. What I do remember is how traumatic it all felt.”
Juggling Strictly and Personal Struggles
At the time, Fiona was going through an incredibly tough period in her personal life, having just placed her mother in a care home.
The disconnect between dancing in glittering costumes on national television and dealing with real-life pain was stark.
“I was constantly on the verge of tears, completely drained,” she wrote.
“There I was, swirling around the dance floor for a paso doble, wondering what I was even doing there.”
She admitted she didn’t speak up about how much she was struggling, either to the production team or to Brendan.
“I just kept going. I literally stumbled through it.”
A Short-Lived Relief
Thankfully for Fiona, her time on the show was brief.
“We were voted out in week four, on Bonfire Night. What a relief,” she confessed.
Brendan, on the other hand, seemed to take it harder.
He was later dropped from Strictly in 2018, news he tearfully confirmed on Lorraine.
Fiona didn’t hold back when she later referred to his departure as “karma.”
Brendan’s representatives have been contacted for a response regarding Fiona’s remarks.
Holding On to Good Memories
Despite the challenges of her current condition, Fiona is still experiencing moments of clarity and connection.
Over the weekend, her husband, Martin Frizell, gave a heartwarming update.
He shared a photo of the two of them from 2022 at Silverstone, smiling together in Formula 1 driver Lando Norris’s garage.
Martin wrote, “Fiona remembers meeting Lando and chatting with him—she even recalls several details. It really made me smile today.”
A Brave Step into Medical Trials
Since receiving her Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2022 at age 61, Fiona has been participating in a groundbreaking drug trial in hopes of slowing the progression of the disease.
While she doesn’t know if she’s on the actual medication or a placebo, the early signs have been encouraging.
“I had my six-month cognitive check-up last October, and it showed no decline from the previous year,” she told Women&Home magazine.
“I’m hopeful the drug is helping keep things steady.”
The trial isn’t without risks—there’s even a chance of brain bleeding—but Fiona said she’s grateful for the opportunity to contribute to something that could lead to a cure.
“I’d rather not have to be on the trial, but I know how important this is.”
Looking Ahead with Courage
Fiona’s memoir, Remember When: My Life With Alzheimer’s, is set to hit the shelves on July 17, promising a deeply honest account of her life—past and present.
From TV stardom to personal trials, from traumatic dance floors to the quiet victories of memory, her story is one of strength, vulnerability, and hope.