Former Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow has revealed he has Alzheimer's disease.
The 79-year-old journalist, who hosted Channel 4 News from 1989 to 2021, was diagnosed with dementia in 2023. He has now chosen to speak publicly about the condition in an interview with the Daily Mail.
“Former Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow, 79, has revealed he has Alzheimer's disease, diagnosed in 2023.”
Snow said he initially tried to ignore the diagnosis. He was reluctant to see a doctor, insisting nothing was wrong, but a cognitive assessment and brain scan confirmed Alzheimer's.
“At the beginning I wanted to hide it, there’s so much prejudice. Any sort of hint of mental decay, you're sort of dead,” he said. “There are moments when it pops up but it's not an all day every day condition, and that's what I cling onto.”
His wife Precious said: “Friends kept asking me if Jon was alright and I would have to lie and say he’s fine, but I knew he wasn’t.”
Snow questioned the diagnosis, saying: “I mean sometimes I doubt whether I’ve really got it. I don’t know if it’s widespread knowledge. I don’t feel disabled in any way.”
Following his retirement in 2021, Snow sank into a deep depression and became withdrawn. He said: “Nobody ever rings – I’m forgotten.” In reality, he had forgotten the calls.
Alzheimer's disease affects around a million people in the UK. The Alzheimer’s Society, which Snow is supporting, said it is a common misconception to question whether dementia is a normal part of ageing. Dementia is caused by diseases of the brain and can affect planning, language, and mood.
Snow’s life with the condition will be explored in a new documentary, Jon Snow: A Last Big Story, produced by Basement Films. It will air on Channel 4 on Saturday, June 20.