Emmerdale’s Charley Webb has spoken out about her mum’s health condition, which she was diagnosed with ten years ago.
Emmerdale actress Charley Webb has spoken out about her mum’s devastating dementia diagnosis as she aims to raise awareness of the condition.
The 37-year-old played Debbie Dingle in the beloved ITV soap from 2002 to 2021, leaving after the birth of her third child with then-partner and Emmerdale co-star Matthew Wolfenden.
Since stepping away from the show, Charley has been open about her personal life, revealing last year that she had been diagnosed with ADHD and autism.
She has now also shared more about her mum Helen’s dementia diagnosis, which she first made public in 2023.
“It is not an easy diagnosis to get,” Charley said during an appearance on Good Morning Britain with Susanna Reid and Ed Balls.
She explained that her mum was diagnosed at the age of 64, although she had been experiencing symptoms for some time beforehand.
Reflecting on her mum’s behaviour, Charley said: “She forgot something really significant… something between me and her, and I just knew in that moment that it was something she wouldn’t normally forget.”
Charley recalled that some people told her she was being “dramatic,” but she trusted her instincts that something was wrong. She added: “Mum was usually very on top of things, and this was just something she let slip. I thought, there’s definitely something not quite right.”
Sending a message to viewers, she said: “I wouldn’t delay getting a diagnosis, because the process can be quite long, especially for someone younger.”
“Don’t take no for an answer,” she urged, explaining that her mum wasn’t always listened to by doctors. Initially, she had been told she only had a water infection, which could have explained some of her memory issues.
Charley revealed that her mum is now living in a care home, saying it was “not possible” to provide the level of care she needed at home.
“It’s such a relief,” she added. “It’s a huge decision, but once you make that choice and see them in a healthy environment, it makes all the difference.”
Speaking about her mum at the age of 75, Charley said: “She’s okay. She has some good days and some not-so-good days.”
Charley had first shared her mum’s battle with dementia publicly in 2023 during an appearance on This Morning, explaining: “There was no support, no help — it was shocking, actually. For me and my siblings, it’s been eight years of hell. She’s now in a care home, and it was the hardest decision we’ve ever had to make.”
She added: “It’s difficult, it’s hard, it was stressful. She had a big personality, much wilder than me. She would stay up until 4 in the morning with my friends, so seeing that decline was awful.
“I think she was in denial. She was young — only 64 — and never wanted to go to the doctors. They tested for everything else, her thyroid and other things, because I don’t think they initially thought it could be dementia.”
Charley heartbreakingly spoke about watching her mum “fade away before your eyes,” saying: “That’s the hardest part, because you grieve for the person they used to be. She’s like a little girl now, and it’s taken me a long time to be able to talk about it. It’s such a personal and huge thing, but it feels like now is the right time.
“One in two of us will either develop dementia or care for someone with it. If we can take action now, we should.”
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