Call the Midwife's Judy Parfitt opens up about husband's dementia

Parfitt, who plays Sister Monica Joan, was married to the actor Tony Steedman, who died in 2001 after appearing in films such as Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure as well as television series including Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Coronation Street, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, The Avengers, Babylon 5, The Sweeney, Minder, and Citizen Smith. 

Now, the actress has spoken openly about Steedman's condition and his dementia diagnosis whilst appearing on Alan Titchmarsh's Love Your Weekend show. 

In the show, Titchmarsh asked Parfitt if she ever brought her real-life experience of caring for her husband into acting roles. 

The Call the Midwife star said: "No, I never think of it because each case is unique."

The actress also spoke about how her husband's condition affected their relationship, saying: "I used to say, 'I've lost my husband but I've got a child' because the love is there.

"And instead of looking after your husband, you're looking after this child that you love."

She continued, describing how dementia is a "horrendous, horrendous thing", adding: "But it's a horrendous, horrendous thing.

"And I think it's the thing that shocks and frightens a lot of people and there's nothing you can do about it.

"He used to have several hallucinations and I remember once we were sitting on the sofa and he said, 'there are people going down the hall'.

"I said, 'yes, they are taking the back door'."

Parfitt later added that others ask her for advice about this, saying: "When people ask me, who have recently been diagnosed, I said, 'it's real to them, you have to go into their world'.

"If he saw people then I have to pretend I saw them too because if you don't it frightens them.

"I think whatever we can do in anyway to help find some sort of cure would be wonderful."

Parfitt has been playing Sister Monica Joan in Call the Midwife since the series first aired in 2012.