I've been going to Bamburgh for holidays since I was a child.

My family have been around Northumberland for five generations.

With something like cancer, there is a feeling that you can fight it in some way or control your response to it, but with dementia there is the fear of losing control of your mind and your life.

I wanted to be a stage actor but I got stuck on television. It took a couple of years to get used to.

Being a grandparent is whole new phase in your life.

Dementia is often regarded as an embarrassing condition that should be hushed up and not spoken about. But I feel passionately that more needs to be done to raise awareness, which is why I became an ambassador for the Alzheimer's Society.

With all the lines I have to learn for TV scripts, I don't think I have any problems with forgetfulness - that's brain exercise enough for me.