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Emmerdale’s Charley Webb shares mum’s heartbreaking diagnosis ‘It’s not easy’

Emmerdale star Charley Webb has opened up about her mum’s health condition after receiving the diagnosis ten years ago.

Meghna Amin Screen Time Reporter

09:48, 02 Feb 2026

Charley Webb appeared on Good Morning Britain today (Image: ITV)

Emmerdale actress Charley Webb has opened up about her mum’s devastating dementia diagnosis as she looks to raise awareness of the condition.

The actress, 37, played Debbie Dingle in the beloved ITV soap from 2002 to 2021, leaving after she welcomed her third child with then-partner and Emmerdale co-star Matthew Wolfenden.

Since leaving Emmerdale, Charley has been open up about her private life and last year, she shared that she had been diagnosed with ADHD and autism.

Charley has now opened up about her mum Helen’s dementia diagnosis, having shared it publicly in 2023.

“It is not an easy diagnosis to get,” Charley recalled during an appearance on Good Morning Britain today with Susanna Reid and Ed Balls.

The actress played Debbie Dingle from 2002 until 2021 (Image: ITV/Emmerdale)

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She explained how her mum was diagnosed at the age of 64 but had been suffering from symptoms for some time before then.

Talking about what she noticed of her mum’s behaviour, she went on: “She forgot something quite huge… something between me and her, and I just knew in that moment that it was something she wouldn’t have forgotten.”

Charley recalled people telling her she was being “dramatic” but she knew in her gut that something was wrong.

She went on: “Mum was very on the ball with things and it was just something she dropped, and I thought, there’s just something that’s not quite right.”

Charley’s mum was diagnosed with dementia at the age of 64 (Image: ITV)

Sending a message to viewers, she added: “I wouldn’t delay getting the diagnosis, because the process is quite long, especially for someone who is younger.”

“Do not take no for an answer,” she urged, revealing they weren’t always listened to by doctors, and that her mum had originally been told she had a water infection which could have affected her memory loss.

Charley’s mum is now in a care home, saying it was “not possible” to constantly look after her mum at home without specific care.

“It’s such a relief,” she went on. “It’s a massive decision but once you make that choice and see them in a healthy environment.”

Charley spoke to Good Morning Britain hosts Ed Balls and Susanna Reid about her mum’s diagnosis (Image: ITV)

Talking about how her mum is doing now at the age of 75, she concluded: “She’s ok, she has some good days, some not good days.”

Charley had bravely shared her mum’s battle with dementia in 2023 during an appearance on This Morning, saying at the time: “There was no support, no help, it was shocking actually, and for me and my siblings it has been eight years of hell. She’s now gone into a home and it was the hardest decision we’ve ever had to make.”

She continued: “It’s difficult, it’s hard, it was stressful. She had a big personality, she was 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, she was 64, she never wanted to go to the doctors for anything. They looked for everything else, they checked her thyroid, did tests because I don’t think they thought it was that.”

The Debbie Dingle actress has opened up about her private life since leaving the soap (Image: ITV)

Charley heartbreakingly spoke about losing her mum “right before your eyes”, saying: “That’s the hardest thing, because you grieve for the person they were. 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 big thing but it feels like now is the right time.

“One out of two of us will get dementia or care for someone with dementia, if we can do something about it now we should.”

For support, visit https://www.dementiauk.org/

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and ITVX. Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays.

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