Anne Marie-Duff, best known for her role in Channel 4 hit Shameless, has shared the heartbreaking news that her brother has passed away following a battle with dementia
Anne-Marie Duff has announced the death of her brother. The actress, who is best known for having played Fiona Gallagher in Shameless, took to social media to announce that her sibling Eddie had passed away following a battle with edemia.
The actress, who won a BAFTA for her role in Bad Sisters, explained that she has started a JustGiving page in a bid to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Society.
She wrote on Instagram :”I am doing this in honour of my big brother Eddie who passed away earlier this year. He was diagnosed with very early onset dementia in his forties. For those who knew him, he was the life and soul of every party, funny, kind and an extraordinarily loyal friend.”
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“He gave me any ounce of cool that I may have – forcing me to swap pop music for Bowie, The Velvet Underground, Joy Division, The Beatles…. I will miss his cheeky smile and all of those gorgeous giggles. Mostly the dancing”.
The TV star added that she will be she will be walking 26 miles in a bid to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Society as part of a campaign called Trek26 London 2026 – 26 miles and she will be venturing across the capital next month.
Anne-Marie was married to actor James McAvoy, known for his roles in period dramas like Atonement and The Last King of Scotland from 2006 until 2016, and he was amongst the first to show his support on social media by sharing the support. In a kind gesture, her ex-husband James, 47, reposted her heartbreaking announcement. The pair share 16-year-old son Brendan.
Former EastEnders star Tamzin Outhwaite also replied: “Much love to AMD and the whole family!”
A description for the family fundraiser read: “At Alzheimer’s Society we’re working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives.
“We do this by giving help to those living with dementia today, and providing hope for the future. Also we are there to support the loving carers of people living with dementia who can, at times, feel isolated and powerless.
“The dream is to create a supportive society, and treatments that optimise the lives of the people we love, like my brother Eddie, living with dementia.”
Towards the end of last year, the actress spoke out about her brother’s condition and thanked the support that he had received but called for change.
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, she said: “The level of support and care has decreased. I’ve seen the services really suffering and the lack of support just increasing. We need systemic change, we just do. We’re an ageing population, this is not going to go anywhere.
“Alzheimer’s Society have really raised this, there needs to be more specialised training for carers, professional as well as familial, but certainly professional, because a lot of carers don’t realise how you should speak to someone with dementia. People say to my brother, ‘Eddie, remember me?’ This is literally the worst thing you can say, but it comes from a good place. You need to be patient with people with dementia. It’s a different approach entirely.”
Dementia is described as a ‘syndrome (a group of related symptoms) associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning,’ according to the NHS website. Talking about when she first noticed something was wrong with her brother, she said: “I don’t think he would have acknowledged it at that time. “He was in his mid-40s when he really started noticing. There were funny wee things to begin with … making a cup of tea and he was doing it all in a very strange way.
“He would get on the wrong bus or he would arrive at completely the wrong time for something. Then gradually, gradually, he was unable to hold down a job, which of course meant he couldn’t pay his rent, which then, of course meant, and it’s just a domino effect, and because he was super young, there’s all sorts of questions. People think, is he drinking? What’s going on? Is he having a breakdown?
“Then, one day, he had a kind of panic attack and he lived around the corner from me, and he just walked into our GP surgery and said, ‘I need some help. I don’t know where I am, and I don’t know what’s wrong with me’. We had an amazing GP and as soon as that happened, then the wheel set in motion.”
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