Richard Madeley's health battle after Good Morning Britain host 'stops' work amid absence

Good Morning Britain's Richard Madeley has sparked a wave of concern among viewers after his unexpected absence from the show, attributed to illness.

His colleague Kate Garraway revealed that Richard had been feeling "poorly" last week, and upon his return, he confessed to "slowing down" in terms of his workload. In a candid conversation with Olympic champion Max Whitlock, Richard reflected on career longevity, saying: "So many careers don't have a hard stop you continue to progress, or you just slowly, quietly as I'm doing filter to a stop. But how do you manage the hard stop?"

This remark didn't go unnoticed by fans, with one social media user speculating: "Did Richard say he's retiring in that #Olympics segment? Wonder how long he'll stay on #GMB for then..."

Amidst these career musings, Richard and his wife Judy Finnigan have openly shared their fears about dementia. In an article for The Express, Judy expressed their concerns: "We're constantly checking ourselves."

She detailed the everyday forgetfulness they experience and pondered whether such moments could be ominous signs. Judy emphasized the importance of vigilance, stating: "If either of us ever thinks dementia has come knocking at the door, it will be a case of, 'Run, don't walk, to the doctor,'" reports the Manchester Evening News.

Richard expressed his deep-seated fears to The Guardian, saying, "Dementia frightens me in ways death doesn't. These days forgetting things comes with a pang of panic. So far, I seem to have avoided it, but the worry won't go away."

Renouncing his '60 a day' custom, Richard recounted his smoking cessation journey starting at the age of 40 citing cigarettes as the cause behind his father's untimely demise at just 49. He originally confessed to The Guardian: "For decades I failed to quit."

His life-altering moment came post-interview with John Diamond, Nigella Lawson's late husband, who was documenting his tobacco-induced cancer battle. Reflecting on that pivotal encounter, Richard stated: "That changed when Judy [Finnigan] and I interviewed Nigella Lawson's late husband John Diamond, who was charting his slow death from smoking-induced throat and oral cancer. Afterwards, I flushed my BandHs down the toilet and haven't touched one since."

Delving further into this transformative experience during a candid chat on the Dr Hilary Show podcast, he recalled the day he stopped smoking for good: "I remember after that interview, that was the day, I went back to my dressing room on This Morning and I reached up on to the top of the cupboard and brought [down] my 10 pack of Benson and Hedges, there was eight in there, and I screwed them all up and flushed them down the loo."

He opened up about the familial pattern of health problems linked to smoking, which led to heart attacks in his grandfather, uncle, and ultimately, his father's death. Richard detailed the harrowing moment, stating: "He came home saying he felt very strange and a couple of minutes later he collapsed into my mum's arms and another minute later he died. It was that brutal."

Richard continued to reflect on his quiet battle with anxiety regarding his health and mortality.

Richard Madeley battled with a secret health condition while hosting Good Morning Britain he bravely concealed the fact that he was struggling to hear. In an interview with The Spectator, he disclosed his experience of suffering from a perforated eardrum following a flight.

This left him deaf in one ear and led to him "lip-read[ing]" during guest interviews on GMB, he admitted: "Conducting interviews during my stints co-hosting Good Morning Britain became secret exercises in lip-reading."

He further shared how social situations in noisy environments were affected: "Likewise, conversations in crowded restaurants and pubs. I became skilled at pretending I'd heard what people had said."

The impairment even frustrated his wife Judy, but to their relief, Richard's hearing miraculously recovered "literally overnight", after enduring months of dulled sounds.

On the topic of his general well-being, Richard is proactive about his health, which he attributes to a family history of heart issues. On a discussion with Dr Hilary, he revealed his routine for maintaining good health: "My blood pressure is very good and my cholesterol level is low. I take a little supermarket bought statin everyday, a little yoghurt, which does help lower cholesterol [and] I have regular health checks. I'm very lucky in that generally I've always been in very good health."