Julie Goodyear's husband shares rare picture of wife amid star's 'painful' dementia battle
3 April 2025, 12:51
The Coronation Street star's husband Scott posted the snap to celebrate his "lovely" wife Julie's 83rd birthday.
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Coronation Street icon Julie Goodyear's husband has shared a rare picture of his wife on Facebook amid her ongoing battle with dementia.
The soap star's spouse Scott Brand posted the photo on social media to mark her 83rd birthday, which she celebrated on 29th March at home in Lancashire.
The sweet tribute saw the British actress, who famously played Rovers Return landlady Bet Lynch, smiling in a chair as she spent some quality time with her loved one to toast the occasion.
Scott, 55, captioned the image: "Just got home with my lovely wife and we've had a fantastic day together. Thank you so much for all your birthday wishes from both of us."
The update on the Corrie legend was welcomed by fans, who got a glimpse into Julie's life away from her glittering TV career in the wake of her dementia diagnosis.
Scott, who married his soap star wife in 2007, has been caring for the cobbles icon since receiving the "heartbreaking" health news back in June 2023.
The couple announced Julie's diagnosis in a poignant statement at the time, which read: "My darling wife and I have had to come to terms with this heart-breaking diagnosis.
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"Unfortunately, Julie has been suffering forgetfulness for some time and we have been seeking medical advice and assistance, but we now know that there is no hope of a reversal in the situation – and that her condition will get progressively, and perhaps speedily, worse.
"We have taken the decision to publicly announce the diagnosis as Julie still loves visiting friends and eating out.
"Inevitably she is recognised, and fans love to meet her - and she them - but she can get confused particularly if she is tired.
"I hope people will understand."
Julie has been taking some time away from the spotlight to focus on her health and is rarely spotted in public, but last year a close friend revealed she was living a "good life".
Opening up about the soap star's condition on the Coronation Street podcast, Mark Llewellin said: "Julie is living a good life, really.
"She still loves leopard print, I’m pleased to say.
"I see her at least once a week, sometimes twice a week, and spend a few hours with her and have afternoon tea at her house, which I call leopard print boulevard."
He continued: "She’s quite happy, she goes out regularly.
"I take her chocolate cake on a Sunday and we tuck into that – well, she doesn’t let me have any to be honest.
"She’s good, obviously she has dementia as everybody knows, but it’s wrong to say you suffer from dementia, you live with dementia.
"It changes what you can do and how you look at life.
"I think Julie has been very brave and strong about that."
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