Julie Goodyear is "slowly fading away" amid her dementia battle, according to her husband.
Corrie legend Julie Goodyear was diagnosed with dementia last year and how her husband has spoken out on her deterioration
The 81-year-old actress - who starred as iconic Rovers landlady Bet Lynch in the ITV1 soap opera 'Coronation Street' for decades - announced last summer that she had been diagnosed with the degenerative disease and now her husband Scott Brand, 55, has revealed his "extreme pain" at watching her deteriorate.
He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "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".
The former 'Celebrity Big Brother' star - who now relies on a wheelchair - made her first appearance as Bet in 1966 and returned in 1970 for what turned out to be a 25-year stint on the serial and both she and her character became heavily associated with leopard print outfits and heavy make up but Scott revealed that these days, glamour is of "no interest" to her.
She said: "Julie has always been extremely glamorous, going nowhere without her makeup. But now the lipsticks and make-up go unworn, and clothes are no longer of interest, especially the leopard print."
Scott - who has been married to Julie since 2007 - gave up full-time work to care for his wife and admitted that whilst initially believing he could cope on his own, he eventually accepted that he needed help.
He said: "One of the biggest things is our holidays. Julie loved going away and would always look forward to our adventures together, but this has now stopped. We no longer go away, and I can no longer go away either as I would never leave Julie.
"I’m now aware that if there was an emergency, and I needed to drive, I wouldn’t be able to – so alcohol is off limits.
"For me, the hardest part was accepting and coming to terms with the diagnosis. At the beginning I refused to accept any support, thinking I could cope as we have always been quite private people.
"This, in reality, didn’t last for long and I soon realised I needed to ask for help as I couldn’t do it by myself. I wasn’t coping and needed to seek support. Caring for Julie is my priority, but my health was being affected and as a lone carer I felt it was 'killing me'. "
Scott also noted that Julie had always managed the finances in their relationship but now she cannot "recognise the value of money" and he had been "thrown into" dealing with all of that when she was diagnosed with dementia.
He said: "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. It was like being thrown into a new world of having to do everything by myself. I would advise anyone going through this journey to accept help straight away."
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