Linda Robson has revealed that she wants to be ‘suffocated with a pillow’ by her children if she ever develops dementia.
The Loose Women star, 65, has also admitted she refuses to be tested for the early signs of the syndrome, which is associated with continued decline in brain function.
Linda watched as her mother, Rita, suffered from dementia and stomach cancer, fell to rock bottom and received bed baths, before dying in 2021 at the age of 75.
The mother-of-three spoke candidly about her feelings about the possibility of developing the condition herself and insisted that she would like her children – Roberta, 27, Louis, 31, and Lauren, 40 – to take her own life.
Linda said The mirror: ‘I said in the meeting [with Loose Women producers]”I want them to put a pillow over my face,” and they said, “You can’t say that on TV.”
Candid: Linda Robson, 65, has revealed she wants to be ‘suffocated with a pillow’ by her children if she ever develops dementia
Ignorance is bliss: The Loose Women star also admitted she refuses to get tested for the early signs of the syndrome (pictured with daughter Lauren, 40)
Real talk: The mother-of-three spoke candidly and insisted she would like her children – Roberta, 27, Louis, 31, and Lauren, 40 – to take her own life (pictured with son Louis, 31)
‘That’s how I feel. That’s my biggest fear: dementia. I’d rather not know if I had it.’
The Birds Of A Feather actress also stated that she would not consider using an end-of-life clinic like Dignitas in Switzerland, confessing, “I told my kids to put me in a home.”
In 2016, Linda spoke to the Daily Mail about her experience of her mother’s decline, saying: ‘The dementia started with little things like forgetfulness, she was just a bit weird.
“She was always such a meticulous woman – so neat and tidy and well presented, but she would lose things, not dress herself. And it gradually went downhill, to the point where she couldn’t be alone anymore.’
There were problems other than her dementia, including a growth in her stomach that suggested cancer – but she was too weak to survive the treatment.
Linda recalls, “They told us they could do the tests, but that even if it was cancer, which it looked like, Mom wasn’t strong enough for treatment.
“It was awful to be in that position, realizing there was no hope, but we also knew we couldn’t take it anymore.”
Rita spent the last few months of her life in a hospice run by the Marie Curie charity. Linda has since become an ambassador for the charity, so emotionally indebted her family became.
Wow: ‘I said in the meeting [with Loose Women producers], ”I want them to put a pillow over my face” and they said ”you can’t say that on TV”. (Pictured with daughter Roberta, 27)
Heartbreaking: Linda watched her mother, Rita, suffer from dementia and stomach cancer, go up to five stones and get bed baths, before dying at age 75, in 2021
She revealed, “I was actually against her going to hospice in the first place. I thought it would be a horrible place, so depressing and gloomy, but when we actually went there I changed my mind. It was the most beautiful place imaginable, and I can’t tell you how well they took care of my mother, all of us in fact.
“They just scooped up the whole family and got us through it. I think they took away that fear of death for all of us. We got to know a lot of the other families and see other people die there, but it wasn’t a big deal. It became easier to accept.’
“It was sad to see Rita’s decline. “She was such a private person and very proud. She would have hated a lot of it – having to wear diapers, being hoisted out of bed, having the nurses wash her.
“In a way, I was glad she didn’t know what was going on. But they treated her with such dignity. I remember going in and someone was playing cards with her. She couldn’t actually play cards – they were just shuffling them and handing them to her – but what patience! Nothing was too much trouble.’