Inside the life of Anna Richardson’s dad Canon Jim Richardson who lives with vascular dementia
CANON Jim Richardson is the father of Naked Attraction host Anna Richardson.
The star has opened up about her father’s vascular dementia diagnosis in her documentary Anna Richardson: Love, Loss & Demention.
The episode will air at 10pm on Channel 4 and will reveal details about the beloved TV presenter’s life with her father.
Here’s everything you need to know about Canon Jim Richardson.
Anna’s dad
Canon Jim Richardson had Anna with his wife, Janet, in 1970.
At the time, the couple lived in Great Brighton, Northamptonshire.
Though the TV presenter is known for scandalous shows, including Naked Attraction and The Sex Education show, both her parents were very involved in religion.
Life as a vicar
Jim Richardson has spent much of his life working as a Vicar in Great Brighton.
He was a prominent member of his community and also worked as a canon pastor at Sherborne Abbey in Dorset.
Anna did say, however, that she feels that working so hard is partly to blame for his dementia.
She told the Express: “When dad was working – and he devoted his life to the church – he was very stressed.
“He was extremely busy.
“He was eating on the run.
“He never exercised.
“He enjoyed a drink in the parish, he had diabetes, and he was carrying a bit too much weight.
“And an awful lot of people in this country currently struggle with all these things, which all contributed to dad’s vascular dementia.”
Jim’s dementia diagnosis
Jim was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2018, which causes patients to have “mini-strokes”.
These strokes lead to cognitive decline, which can cause confusion and memory loss.
Jim is now living alone in sheltered accommodation, but is still near to his family in Staffordshire.
Anna opened up about her father saying to her: “When I die, I’m going to the company of angels.”
She added that making the film has made her feel closer to her father.
Is it ageing or dementia?
Dementia – the most common form of which is Alzheimer’s – comes on slowly over time.
As the disease progresses, symptoms can become more severe.
But at the beginning, the symptoms can be subtle or mistaken for normal memory issues related to ageing.
The US National Institute on Aging gives some examples of what is considered normal forgetfulness in old age, and dementia disease.
You can refer to these above.
For example, it is normal for an ageing person to forget which word to use from time-to-time, but difficulting having conversation would be more indicative of dementia.
Katie Puckering, Head of Alzheimer’s Research UK’s Information Services team, previously told The Sun: “We quite commonly as humans put our car keys somewhere out of the ordinary and it takes longer for us to find them.
“As you get older, it takes longer for you to recall, or you really have to think; What was I doing? Where was I? What distracted me? Was it that I had to let the dog out? And then you find the keys by the back door.
“That process of retrieving the information is just a bit slower in people as they age.
“In dementia, someone may not be able to recall that information and what they did when they came into the house.
“What may also happen is they might put it somewhere it really doesn’t belong. For example, rather than putting the milk back in the fridge, they put the kettle in the fridge.”