Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman describes 'direct impact' of her role in new Alzheimer's film

Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman has described how her part in a new film to raise awareness of dementia personally resonated with her.

The star of ITV's Broadchurch, said she knew the impact of the disease after losing her great-grandmother to the condition.

Now the Norfolk actress, who picked up a string of awards for her movie The Favourite, has teamed up with Alzheimer's Research UK to produce a new short-film.

Colman who played the daughter of a man with dementia who refuses assistance in the film The Father, is helping the Cambridge-based charity show how dementia robs people of their “happily ever after”.

She 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 animated short film, Change The Ending, is voiced by Colman and shows how the illness can leave people worried and frightened, and has a huge impact on families.

She said: “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.

Almost one million people in the UK are living with dementia, which can cause memory loss, changes to personality, losing the ability to communicate, hallucinations, becoming incontinent, and needing support to do everyday things such as eating, washing and dressing.

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