Television presenter John Stapleton, 79, who had Parkinson’s disease complicated by pneumonia, passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, his agent confirmed. Jackie Gill said: “John had Parkinson’s disease which was complicated by pneumonia. His son Nick and daughter-in-law Lisa have been constantly at his side and John died peacefully in hospital this morning.”
John discussed his condition on television, and shared details on Good Morning Britain last year. He said: “There’s no point in being miserable or trying to change anything, it won’t ever change. It won’t ever change, Parkinson’s is here with me now for the rest of my life. Best I can do is try and control it and take the advice of all the experts I’m talking to.”
In a moving moment, he added in a heartbreaking seven-word response: “I’ve got it, get on with it!”, reports the Express.
He initially suspected he had Parkinson’s several years before receiving his official diagnosis, and consulted with a specialist.
Stapleton added: “So I went back and of course he did confirm, about two to three months ago, he confirmed it was indeed Parkinson’s. Also, I had other symptoms as well – difficulty swallowing, handwriting going, I would find myself writing tiny letters that no one else could decipher, feeling fatigued a lot of the time when I wouldn’t do otherwise and of course the voice.
“The voice has lost a lot of its resonance so I have to speak louder! I’ve got a speech therapist who has helped me a great deal, teaching me to speak more loudly.”
John’s son, Nick, also opened up about his father’s diagnosis, noting that he had observed his dad struggling more. He shared: “Over the last year, I’ve started to notice that dad was seeming a bit more anxious.
“He wasn’t walking as confidently and he had this tremor in his hand.
“So two months ago, he went for some tests and unfortunately a few days later he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.”
He added: “It was deeply troubling news.”
Stapleton was best known for his appearances on Newsnight, Panorama and GMTV’s News Hour. He was also one of the original presenters on Sky News.
John’s wife Lynn Faulds Wood, who helmed the BBC consumer rights programme Watchdog from 1986 until 1993 with John, died of a stroke caused by antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) – an autoimmune disease that causes an increased risk of blood clots – in 2020 aged 72.
Speaking about Lynn – who survived bowel cancer and skin cancer – John told Lorraine Kelly, 65, during an episode of her eponymous ITV show in May 2021: “When Lynn started campaigning there were people in our business who couldn’t bring themselves to say the word cancer… Lynn would have none of that of course.
“She saved thousands of lives. She was still doing it right at the end. She would always find some ray of hope.”
For help and support with Parkinson’s, you can reach out to charity Parkinson’s UK on their free confidential helpline 0808 800 0303 or visit their website.