Broadcaster John Stapleton has revealed he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The 78-year-old said he was “pragmatic” about the prospect of his condition getting worse – but insisted he was trying to “remain positive” and “as independent as I can” for as long as possible.
Stapleton is familiar to TV audiences through his work on programmes such as Newsnight, Panorama and GMTV’s News Hour.
In an interview on BBC One’s Morning Live, he said: “Speaking is how I’ve earned my living for the best part of 50 years.
“It’s very frustrating sometimes, particularly (when) people are constantly saying to you, ‘sorry, what did you say?’
“And you have to repeat yourself, time and time again.
“I am fairly pragmatic about the prospect of this getting worse. I try to remain positive, because what’s the point of not being?”
Stapleton’s son Nick said the diagnosis was “really upsetting”, but it did not come as a surprise because his grandmother had the degenerative condition.
Parkinson’s disease is a condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years, with symptoms including tremors and slow movement, according to the NHS website.
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Stapleton said he had witnessed his mother’s “decline from this lively, ebullient, outgoing lady to a lady who is fairly fragile”.
“One of the practical problems she faced initially was her inability to do things like open a can of beans or peel a potato,” he added.
“Believe it or not, I’m having the same problem, to some extent, myself right now.”
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On the TV show, Nick Stapleton talked to his father about the future and how he could best support him.
Stapleton told his son: “I want to remain as independent as I can for as long as I possibly can.
“In terms of the house, I’d be very reluctant to leave it, which shall not surprise you at all.”
The presenter told his son he would use a stairlift if it was necessary. He added that although he would be reluctant to go into care, he was also “a realist”.
Following Stapleton’s announcement, the charity Parkinson’s UK offered their support to the journalist and his son “as they start John’s unique journey with the condition”.
“No one is alone with Parkinson’s, and we are here to support everyone,” the charity added.
The voice actor behind Milhouse Van Houten – Bart Simpson’s very uncool friend – is stepping away after 35 years on the show.
Pamela Hayden, who also voiced Jimbo Jones, Rod Flanders, Janey and Malibu Stacy, will sign off from The Simpsons on 24 November in a Treehouse of Horror episode.
“It’s been an honour and a joy to have worked on such a funny, witty, and groundbreaking show,” the 70-year-old said in a statement.
Show creator Matt Groening said: “Pamela gave us tons of laughs with Milhouse, the hapless kid with the biggest nose in Springfield.
“She made Milhouse hilarious and real, and we will miss her.”
Tulisa Contostavlos has opened up about the moment she says her life “fell apart” after being “set up by a British newspaper” and charged with supplying drugs.
The charges against the singer were later dismissed after prosecution witness “fake sheikh” journalist Mazher Mahmood was found to have tampered with evidence during her 2014 trial.
“2013 was the year I was set up by a British newspaper, for concern in the selling of class A drugs,” she told fellow campmate Oti Mabuse.
“The guy’s name was Mahmood and basically, I was approached by a big movie company and they sent me a tweet or a DM from their official account to audition me for a movie role… I’d dabbled in acting, so this opportunity for me was huge.”
Contostavlos, 36, said the role was offering £3.5m and she was flown out for meetings with producers in Las Vegas but told former Strictly Come Dancing star Mabuse “it was a lie”.
She claimed the team behind the movie encouraged her to take on a real-life role of a “bad girl from London who was constantly up to naughtiness, rolling with gangs, up to all kinds of naughty stuff”.
Contostavlos said “they had me dangling on the end of a string”, claiming every time she met with the team they would tell her “we need some drugs”.
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“After months and months, eventually they got a number and it was of someone that wasn’t even a drug dealer, it was an aspiring movie producer and I wanted to make a hook up as well for that person, but I didn’t know anyone that could do that,” she said.
“The long story short is they ended up ordering £800 worth of cocaine from the number that I had given them.
“Then before I knew it, I was being arrested in the concern of the selling of Class A drugs and I was facing four years in prison.”
Contostavlos revealed she lost “all my endorsements” over the incident and “my life fell apart”, she said.
“When it came to the trial, I’d had a conversation with one of their drivers, I was being recorded but I didn’t know, I was saying how anti-drugs I am, so they were very aware of my feelings towards drugs.”
Contostavlos said the driver initially gave a statement confirming she was anti-drugs, however she claimed that as the trial loomed the journalist forced him to change his statement.
In 2016, Mahmood was jailed for 15 months after being found guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice relating to his actions in Tulisa Contostavlos’s court case.
Friends and family of Liam Payne, including his One Direction bandmates, have gathered to say goodbye at his funeral.
Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik were among the family and friends attending the private ceremony.
Simon Cowell, who put the band together on The X Factor, Payne‘s girlfriend Kate Cassidy, and former partner Cheryl were also there.
The 31-year-old died after he fell from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 16 October.
Fans from around the world have held their own vigils over the past few weeks, and tributes have been left today in his hometown, Wolverhampton.
Payne’s dark blue coffin, topped with white roses, arrived for the service on a horse-drawn carriage, bearing flowers reading “son” and “daddy” – for his son, Bear, with Cheryl.
Her Girls Aloud bandmates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh were also among those at the service, along with TV and radio presenters including James Corden, Marvin and Rochelle Humes, Scott Mills, and Adrian Chiles, and former professional footballer Robbie Keane.
US influencer Cassidy, who returned home from Argentina two days before his death, arrived with Damian Hurley, son of Elizabeth Hurley.
As Payne’s mother and father, Geoff and Karen, arrived at the church in the Home Counties, standing next to the carriage, silence fell among mourners outside.
A few locals and fans also gathered nearby, but in the main largely stayed away from the private ceremony.
Payne rose to worldwide fame alongside Styles, Tomlinson, Malik and Horan on The X Factor in 2010, when they were put together to form One Direction. They went on to become one of the most successful UK pop groups of all time.
After the band announced their hiatus, the singer launched his solo career, releasing his debut album LP1 in December 2019.
Prosecutors in Argentina have launched an investigation into Payne’s death and announced earlier this month that three people had been charged in connection with the incident.
One Direction tributes
Payne’s One Direction bandmates all publicly paid tribute following his death.
“His greatest joy was making other people happy and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it,” said Styles in his statement. “Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious.
“He was warm, supportive and incredibly loving. The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend.”
Tomlinson said he had “lost a brother” and offered to be an uncle to Payne’s son, Bear, if he “ever needs me”.
Horan, who had been touring in South America and saw Payne at his show in the weeks before his death, said: “I feel so fortunate that I got to see him recently. I sadly didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking.”
Malik said Payne had supported him “through some of the most difficult times” of his life, and said he always had a “positive outlook and reassuring smile”.
Cowell also paid tribute, saying he was “devastated” and “heartbroken”.
He continued: “I wanted to let you know what I would always say to the thousands of people who would always ask me. What is Liam like? And I would tell them you were kind, funny, sweet, thoughtful, talented, humble, focused. And how much you loved music. And how much love you genuinely had for the fans.”