Alzheimer’s Research UK: Olivia Colman backs new dementia campaign, as charity reveals 1 in 2 people don’t know the condition causes memory loss  

• Findings from Alzheimer’s Research UK highlights shocking lack of understanding about the UK’s number one killer.
• Oscar-winner Olivia Colman voices the charity’s new campaign, which lays bare the harsh reality of the condition to improve awareness.
• The charity says improving understanding will help build on the progress being made in dementia research and speed up the search for a cure.
• Watch the film here: Change The Ending – Alzheimer’s Research UK – YouTube

Alzheimer’s Research UK has revealed that less than half (49%) of the British public can name memory loss as an effect of dementia, while over a fifth (22%) say they have no idea how the condition impacts people.

This comes as the UK’s leading dementia research charity lays bare the harsh reality of the condition with its hardest-hitting campaign film yet, Change The Ending, voiced by Oscar-winning actor Olivia Colman. The animation shows how the effects of dementia rob people of their ‘happily ever after’ to raise awareness of the devastating impact of this condition, in the hope of rallying support for the charity to find a cure.

People with dementia can experience many distressing symptoms, including memory loss, changes to their personality, losing the ability to communicate, hallucinations, becoming incontinent, and needing support to do everyday things like eating, bathing and dressing.

But despite almost one million people in the UK living with dementia today, and it being the biggest killer, there is still a startling lack of awareness around the impact it has. A YouGov survey, commissioned by Alzheimer’s Research UK, asked 2,162 people to name how dementia affects a person’s everyday life. It revealed:

• Only 12% said dementia causes people to lose their independence, while one in five people (21%) were aware it causes trouble with managing daily tasks.
• Just 11% realised dementia can affect personal relationships.
• 5% said it stopped people from being able to communicate.
• 4% were aware it causes loss of body and motor control.
• 2% knew it causes difficulty managing finances.

The charity’s emotive new campaign film – part animation, part live-action – has been developed with creative agency, Above & Beyond. It follows the story of a prince and princess, whose fairytale life together is ripped apart after he develops dementia. The prince experiences many effects of dementia, including forgetfulness, no longer being able to do everyday tasks, becoming fearful and paranoid, losing the ability to walk and needing care.

Alzheimer’s Research UK has created the film – which launches today on World Alzheimer’s Day – to put a spotlight on the urgent need to find a cure for dementia. While incredible progress is being made in dementia research – particularly in recent months with new Alzheimer’s drugs, lecanemab and donanemab – the charity says that transforming the public’s understanding is vital to speed up progress .

Olivia Colman, who starred in Oscar-winning drama The Father – a poignant story that also highlights the heartbreaking impact of dementia, said:

“As soon as I heard about the concept behind Alzheimer’s Research UK’s campaign, I wanted to be involved and support their search for a cure. Dementia devastates lives and wreaks havoc on far too many families across the UK and around the world.

“My mum was a nurse for 45 years and, as a young girl, I got to meet some of the people she cared for who were living with dementia. It was so upsetting to see how the condition had robbed people of their independence, and the impact it had on their loved ones. My great-grandmother died with the condition and other loved ones close to my family also succumbed to it, so it’s had a direct impact.

“The work Alzheimer’s Research UK does is so important, and I was proud to lend my voice to this campaign – it lays bare the realities of dementia in such a powerful and thought-provoking way. I was holding back tears narrating the film as dementia destroys people’s ‘happily ever afters’, and we must do everything we can to end the pain and distress it causes. I’d urge everyone to join me and get behind Alzheimer’s Research UK to help drive them towards a cure.”

As well as its Change The Ending campaign, the charity has also released a new film featuring supporter Frank Littleford and his wife, Alison. Frank was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s – the leading cause of dementia – in 2020. The film shows the impact dementia has on their lives, what the couple have done to remain connected, as well as their hope in dementia research, which Frank is involved in.

Frank said:

“As my Alzheimer’s has progressed, I’m slowly losing myself. The things I need to live a life, like the ability to speak, to converse, to appreciate others, are gradually disappearing. What is most upsetting is I can see how it affects my wife, Alison, more than anyone else and I find it so difficult to not be able to have the same relationship with her as I did before.

“It’s only now that I can understand how other people with dementia must feel and I want to do all I can to stop this condition affecting others, like it has affected us.

“That’s why I’m proud to support Alzheimer’s Research UK’s Change The Ending campaign. This film shows what life is like for people living with dementia, and their loved ones, in a way that’s never been done before. By raising this vital awareness, I hope it will help inspire others to support Alzheimer’s Research UK. This charity is at the heart of the efforts to find a cure, and the breakthroughs their researchers make are going to be vital in ensuring people don’t have to go through what me, Alison and our family are going through.”

Hilary Evans, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:

“Our new film features a story we urgently need to tell – because this is the distressing reality for many people living with dementia today. Tragically, it will be the reality for many more if we don’t act now.

“As our survey shows, too many people are unaware of how dementia destroys lives, and this is blocking our path to a cure. We know the film will be hard to watch, but by putting a spotlight on the devastation this condition causes, we hope to ignite support for the vital research that will change the ending for everyone affected by dementia.

“While we’re making great strides in dementia research, and new treatments are on the horizon, there is still much more work needed to save people from dementia. We’re so grateful to Olivia Colman, and Frank and Alison, for standing with us for this important campaign and joining us in our search for a cure.”

Alzheimer’s Research UK is leading the search for a cure by revolutionising the way dementia is treated, diagnosed and prevented. Since its inception in 1992, scientists funded by the charity have made more than 4,500 discoveries in dementia research, including breakthroughs that have paved the way for experimental therapies in clinical trials today.

Earlier this year, the charity launched its 10-year plan – Alzheimer’s Research UK: Towards A Cure – outlining the change it wants to see for people affected by dementia by 2033 and the actions it will take to get there.

Visit the charity’s website to watch the Change The Ending film and find out how to support the search for a cure: www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/campaign/for-a-cure

Check out the Alzheimer’s Research UK RIA Foundation Member profile here  .