Leeds businessman who appeared on Come Dine With Me and Secret Millionaire teams up with Emmerdale director to produce moving film about dementia

Leisure industry businessman Terry makes his acting debut in the video, called Where’s Steve?, which is avakilable on YouTube.

Terry, who has appeared as himself on TV’s The Secret Millionaire and Come Dine With Me, plays Eric, a man living with early-onset dementia.

In the film, Eric arrives home from hospital after overcoming COVID-19 and is anxious and confused about the whereabouts of his partner Steve until his carer Benny, played by Leon Lopez, reassures him that everything is OK.

Leon is known for TV roles in Brookside and Eastenders, but this is the first time he has played a character in one of his own productions.

The storyline highlights the vulnerability and isolation many people living with dementia are experiencing during the current lockdown.

It was inspired by Terry’s own experiences of dementia, a condition that affected his mother Teresa, who died 11 years ago, aged 75.

Terry said: “My hope is that the film will get people talking about dementia and help to destigmatise it.

“It’s only looking back now at the way my mum behaved that I realise she was trying to hide her symptoms from me and my siblings.

“I took her to see a psychiatrist who gave her a memory test and she didn’t do well, but she just joked about it.

“It was painful to watch but I realise now that she was trying to hide her embarrassment – she felt she was losing her dignity.

“I really hope this film raises awareness of these issues so people have a greater understanding of how dementia affects people.”

There are 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK, including an estimated 67,630 in Yorkshire and Humberside.

The condition is the UK’s biggest killer, with someone developing it every three minutes.

Judith King, Head of Region for Alzheimer’s Society, said: “It's great to see this collaboration coming to fruition.

“Leon and Terry have created a moving film that highlights the vulnerability many people living with dementia feel on a daily basis.

“Loneliness and isolation have become real concerns for people with dementia during the current pandemic, so I hope this video starts

conversations about the ways we can support them better.”