The Manchester-born compere comedian was diagnosed with dementia last year
Danny regularly gives updates on how his dad, Vince, is doing(Image: ITV)
Emmerdale star Danny Miller has opened up about what will “break my heart” in his dad’s battle with dementia.
Last year, during an appearance on daytime chat show Loose Women, the actor opened up about his father, Vince Miller, and his dementia diagnosis, as he now lives in a care home in Manchester.
Since then, Danny has been very open about the reality of having a loved one battling with dementia, and the highs and lows that come with the disease.
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On Monday (March 23), Danny appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain where he gave an update on Vince. Admitting that it feels like “losing him over and over”, Danny praised former Emmerdale co-star Charley Webb for inspiring him to speak out.
Charley’s mum was diagnosed with early-onset dementia aged 64, and sadly died on Mother’s Day this year. Danny shared: “It made me want to talk out and it made me want to be vulnerable, and allow myself to put out an unfiltered video… I wanted to just try and allow people to see me be someone completely different and be vulnerable, and hope that it will resonate with somebody, somewhere.”
Giving an update on his dad’s current health, Danny continued: “There’s good days and bad days. There was a time last week where I didn’t know if I’d be sat here because he’s up and down with his general health anyway, but dementia always makes it feel somewhat worse.
“There’s urine infections that suddenly make them more confused, and then his health declined, he looked ill.” Ed Balls then asked if Vince sometimes struggles to remember who Danny is, to which the actor responded: “No, that will break my heart.
“I’m not there yet, we’re not there yet. But it will break my heart.” He added: “It’s tough because it was always, ‘this is my son Danny from Emmerdale’ because he was so proud of me. I struggle to have the same relationship and I feel selfish for that.”
Danny admitted it will break his heart when his dad doesn’t remember him(Image: ITV)
As the interview concluded, Danny admitted: “I miss him so much. He used to call me a lot, and just rant, and then put the phone down without saying ‘how are you’, and I’d give anything back to have those conversations.”
The video Danny referenced was posted on his Instagram earlier this year, where he said: “Dementia is so cruel man, it’s so so cruel. If anyone else is resonating with this video or can relate to the video I’m really sorry you’re going through the same situation but sometimes it’s easier just to dump it on here.”
“I miss my dad so much, I really do… He’s still in there somewhere…. I hope everyone’s okay, doing alright. Sending a lot of love to you and your parents, you and your family. Take care.”
His Emmerdale co-stars flooded the comments with support after he opened up, including Charley Webb so has consistently shown her love for Danny throughout his dad’s journey.
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.