Longtime radio and TV broadcaster Paul Gambaccini has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The 77-year-old presenter, a regular on the BBC since the 1970s, shared the diagnosis he received in 2025.
'Life goes on as normal'
Gambaccini said: "As Freddie Mercury once sang, you can't turn back the clock, you can't turn back the tide. Ain't that a shame. There's no denying it's a serious condition with an uncertain future, but for now life goes on as normal and I continue to broadcast."
The American-British DJ expressed gratitude for the kindness he has already received. Since his diagnosis, he has been supported by the Alzheimer's Society. He pledged to be as open as possible as things progress and asked "to be given the space to keep on broadcasting the music I love to the listeners I love even more. These are the days of our lives."
Continued broadcasting
Gambaccini remains on air, presenting the Paul Gambaccini Collection on BBC Radio 2 every Sunday and hosting shows on Greatest Hits Radio.
Michelle Dyson, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, stated that Gambaccini's experience shows there can be life after a dementia diagnosis. She added: "Receiving a dementia diagnosis can be frightening, but it can also open the door to receiving treatment and support. We hope that by sharing his diagnosis, Paul will encourage others to spot the symptoms and reach out if they are worried about themselves or a loved one."
Background and previous controversies
Gambaccini was caught up in the aftermath of Operation Yewtree, led by the Metropolitan Police following revelations about paedophile Jimmy Savile. In 2018, he won a payout from the Crown Prosecution Service over an unfounded case regarding historical sexual abuse allegations, which was dropped and called "completely fictitious". He called the BBC the "worst employer of all time" for its treatment during the scandal, saying then director general Tony Hall caved in during a media "witch-hunt" after the Savile affair.
Gambaccini once told the Guardian he liked to go tenpin bowling every Sunday to keep active and aimed to bowl over 150 "because that was Richard Nixon's average". He also visits the gym twice a week, goes to bed by 11.30pm, and has taken a siesta "every afternoon since my 20s", attributing this to his "Italian blood".
Career highlights
Known by nicknames "The Great Gambo" and "The Professor of Pop", Gambaccini was born in New York and moved to the UK to study at the University of Oxford before establishing himself as a radio presenter. He was inducted into the Radio Academy Hall of Fame in 2005.
