I’m A Celebrity’s Danny Baker reveals dementia heartbreak as he admits his mum no longer recognises him
Despite the severity of this elderly mother’s condition, the presenter says it doesn’t ‘worry’ him
DANNY Baker has revealed that his mum no longer knows who he is, due to the severity of her dementia.
56-year-old Danny also said that his mum Betty will have no idea that he is in the I’m A Celebrity jungle.
“My mum has dementia. She doesn’t know who I am anymore. She is 84 now, bless her,” he told The Daily Star.
“But I don’t worry about dementia. It’s not smallpox. There’s no history of it in my family. My mum’s just very old.”
He added that despite Betty ceasing to recognise those closest to her, she is still “extremely happy.”
“She’s extremely happy. That’s the thing – she’s not one of those anxious people. I go and sing songs to her. It’s how it is. There are various types of dementia and it doesn’t happen overnight. Me and my sister go and see her and sing songs. I come from a very strong family.”
Danny was hailed as ‘brave’ when he entered the jungle on Thursday and opened up about his battle with cancer and revealed he’d finally beaten it – six years after his diagnosis.
The star first revealed he had cancer of the mouth and throat as he picked up his award for Sony radio personality of the year.
He underwent intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy on his mouth, and speaking about the traumatic time, he told his campmates: “One of the legacies of it is my mouth’s always dry, I’ve got very few taste buds, very few saliva glands and my appetite is flat lined.
“One of the things here because it’s in your head and you get radiotherapy, its blitzes your mouth and you can’t. . .”
“I didn’t talk for eight months” he added.