Coronation Street legend Julie Goodyear health update given by pal after diagnosis
Actress Julie Goodyear is living a "good life", one of her close pals has said in a new update. It was revealed last year that the Coronation Street legend is living with dementia following a shock diagnosis.
Julie, 81, who is known for playing Bet Lynch on the soap, had struggled with a number of symptoms over the years prior to her diagnosis. Her husband, Scott Brand, publicly shared Julie's dementia diagnosis last year, saying it would get "progressively, and perhaps speedily, worse".
The star's friend Mark Llewellin - who was her late co-star Roy Barraclough's partner - has now shared an update on her health, saying she is "quite happy" and he visits her once or twice a week.
Mark opened up about his close friend on the Conversation Street podcast, saying: "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 went on to say she's "happy" and leaves the house regularly, despite her health woes. Mark added: "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."
Mark's update comes after Julie's husband Scott spoke about his wife's deterioration earlier this year. He heartbreakingly told how he misses his "fun-loving wife" and branded it "extremely painful" to see her deteriorating.
"Julie has always been extremely glamorous, going nowhere without her makeup,” he sadly explained. “But now the lipsticks and make-up go unworn, and clothes are no longer of interest, especially the leopard print.”
He went on: “I miss the fun-loving wife that Julie had always been – the larger-than-life personality that brightened up everywhere she went, and the smile that lit up every room. All of this is now slowly fading away and it’s extremely painful for me to watch this deterioration.”
Julie found fame on Coronation Street as iconic character Bet Lynch. She joined the soap in 1966 and remained in the role of Bet until 2003. She was awarded an MBE for her services to drama in 1996.
