Channel 4 journalist Jon Snow reveals Alzheimer’s diagnosis

Jon Snow revealed he has had the disease since 2023, adding that before his diagnosis he was reluctant to see a doctor and insisted there was nothing wrong. File picture: PA

Former Channel 4 News anchor Jon Snow has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia.

The 78-year-old journalist will discuss the reality of living with the condition in a documentary titled Jon Snow: A Last Big Story, which will air later this month.

Snow revealed he has had the disease since 2023, adding that before his diagnosis he was reluctant to see a doctor and insisted there was nothing wrong.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Snow reflected on how he still questions whether he has Alzheimer’s, saying: “I mean sometimes I doubt whether I’ve really got it.

“I don’t know if it’s widespread knowledge. I don’t feel disabled in any way.” 

The journalist also revealed he was part of a clinical trial for the condition and has previously spoken about how his mother, Joan, struggled with Alzheimer’s in the years leading up to her death.

Alzheimer’s is the ongoing decline of brain functioning and can affect memory, thinking skills and other mental abilities.

The documentary will follow the Bafta-winning journalist as he navigates life with the condition, and as he undergoes an investigation into a Zambian community whose land and water were impacted by a mining disaster.

In it, he is said to open up about how he is dealing with the disease, saying: “At the beginning I wanted to hide it, there’s so much prejudice.

“Any sort of hint of mental decay, you’re sort of dead. There are moments when it pops up but it’s not an all-day, every-day condition, and that’s what I cling on to.” 

British prime minister Keir Starmer has praised Snow as a “true giant in journalism” in light of his diagnosis, and in a post on X he said: “Jon Snow has spent his life asking difficult questions and telling important stories.

“Now, in sharing his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, he is helping others feel less alone and raising awareness of a condition that affects so many families.” 

Snow 'immensely relieved'

Snow is said to be “immensely relieved” that news of his diagnosis has been revealed, according to journalist Kirsty Lang.

Lang, a long-time colleague, told Channel 4 News: “I’ve just come off the phone with (Snow’s) wife, Precious, and she says that Jon is immensely relieved, actually, now that the news is out, that he can talk openly about it.

“But, also, that he can spread the word to other Alzheimer’s sufferers out there, and say, ‘You’re not alone, there are things that can be done, don’t give up’.” 

Lang said Snow took “quite a long time” to tell his friends about the diagnosis, adding: “There was quite a long period when his close friends, like myself, were sort of ringing up Precious going, ‘is everything all right? Doesn’t seem quite himself’. And they were like ‘no, no, absolutely, it’s all fine’. Well, it clearly wasn’t.” 

Snow is famed for his decades-long career as a journalist and TV presenter and known for being the longest-running face of Channel 4 News — which he anchored from 1989 to 2021.

Michelle Dyson, the chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Jon’s decision to talk publicly about his dementia diagnosis is a real act of courage and his story will resonate with so many.

“His support for Alzheimer’s Society will help spark a national conversation about dementia that we so desperately need.

“Despite being the UK’s biggest killer, dementia is still not treated with the same urgency as other major health conditions like cancer.” 

Dyson added that Snow and his wife are “shining a light on the need for faster, fairer access to diagnosis” as she emphasised how important an early diagnosis can be in helping to support those with the condition.

Louisa Compton, head of news, current affairs, specialist factual, and sport at Channel 4 said: “Jon Snow is not just one of Channel 4’s most recognisable faces — he is part of our very fabric and is dearly loved by viewers around the UK.

“It is a profound privilege that we are able to document his last big investigation, in a sensitively made film that frames Jon’s current affairs nous alongside a new life lived with Alzheimer’s.

“We hope this film will go a long way to raise awareness of how to live whilst facing a life-changing diagnosis.”