BBC Breakfast host Nina Warhurst has admitted her “guilt” over “getting angry” with her dad amid his dementia battle.
The 42-year-old made the heartbreaking confession during this morning’s (Monday, March 6) edition of Breakfast.
BBC Breakfast star Nina Warhurst talks of ‘guilt’
Today’s edition of BBC Breakfast saw Nina make an appearance, but not to host the show.
Instead, the journalist was on the programme to talk about a short piece she filmed highlighting the plights of dementia sufferers.
The short film also looks at the impact dementia has on the family of the sufferer. Nina spoke to Jon Kay and Sally Nugent about it today.
Nina and her sisters, Amy and Mel, are currently co-caring for their father, Chris. He was diagnosed with dementia last year.
Nina admitted that she’s still coming to terms with the toll the condition has already had on his cognitive abilities.
Nina Warhurst talks dad’s dementia on BBC Breakfast today
The journalist said: “We have been fortunate that my dad has never got angry.
“I know that can happen with different forms of dementia, but he didn’t understand it was happening.”
She then continued, saying: “When we had conversations about changing the set-up, maybe giving some respite care he thought nothing was wrong.”
The Breakfast star then continued, saying that telling her father “little fibs” all the time broke her heart. However, she claims it is in his best interest.
“There were times when ‘if I don’t fib to him to get us over this hump, we are not going to get there’,” she said.
Nina makes sad confession
The Breakfast host then continued, saying: “He would phone me ten times a day, saying ‘I need you to come round’ and then I’d get there and he would say ‘What are you doing here?’.”
“At that point, it is hard not to be cross and that was the surprising thing, I felt really guilty because I was getting angry with him,” she then confessed.
“I was taking it out on him and I had two tiny kids at home that I wasn’t seeing as much and I wasn’t focused at work, there are these ripples that then go through your family as well.”
Nina took to Instagram last year, admitting that she was “devastated” that her father hadn’t recognised her.
“My Dad. I missed him so much this week. Dementia means he’s here, but not here. Today was the first time he couldn’t quite place me,” she captioned a snap of herself and her dad.
BBC Breakfast airs daily from 6am on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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