MasterChef’s Grace Dent announces her father George has died following a battle with dementia – as she pays tribute with moving post
Grace Dent has announced her father George has passed away following a battle with dementia.
The MasterChef critic, 49, took to Instagram on Saturday to pay tribute as she shared a childhood photo of the pair, along with a floral tribute from his funeral.
She reminisced on their time together and how he ‘hated’ Christmas while imagining how he would celebrate the day in heaven with her late mum, also named Grace.
Tragic: Grace Dent has announced her father George has passed away following a battle with dementia (pictured in 2021)
The columnist wrote in her caption: ‘Well Dad. You pick your moments. In fairness you hated Christmas. All those folk ´popping in’ when you wanted to watch Porridge Christmas Special with a glass of Lidl vin de table and your fruit and nut.
‘By now you’re in heaven with mam, teletext on, finding a 10 days all inclusive or shelling sprouts to Jona Lewie with a turkey too big for the oven.
‘Thank you for mending my rollers skates and teaching me the value of a quid ❤️ I will always, at some level, be under your armpit in 1978, watching Kenny Everett. #ynwa.’
In 2020, she wrote in The Guardian while George was still alive: ‘There is so much I want to say to Dad, but I can’t bring myself to. Dementia is really awkward. Not just painful and frightening. Embarrassing. I don’t like to be left alone with Dad.
Throwback: The MasterChef critic, 49, took to Instagram on Saturday to pay tribute as she shared a childhood photo of the pair, along with a floral tribute from his funeral
‘But sometimes I can see terror in his eyes. Sometimes, as Dad talks nowadays, midway through a nonsensical sentence his brain catches up. And right then, he understands the total ridiculousness of what he is saying, and pure shame passes across his face.
‘Sometimes I get up the nerve to ask him a question in cushioned terms. “Are you feeling like you forget stuff, Dad? Like when you got up for work the other morning… did you forget you’ve retired?” But then he will deny it or pretend not to hear. Or he just tells me plainly no.’
It comes after Grace opened up about the mortifying moment her and her partner were turned away from an exclusive London restaurant for ‘violating’ the formal dress code.
Memories: In her caption, she reminisced on their time together and how he ‘hated’ Christmas while imagining how he would celebrate the day in heaven with her late mum
Opening up: The columnist began: ‘Well Dad. You pick your moments..’
The broadcaster and author made the embarrassing confession while appearing on Amanda Wakeley’s podcast Style DNA.
She told designer Amanda, 60, that she recently wanted to have dinner at the Asian restaurant Sexy Fish in Mayfair.
However, Grace and her partner – who she has never named – were turned away at the door thanks to his pricey yet overly casual attire, which included ‘£450 fireproof trousers’.
She explained: ‘I was with my partner and were in Mayfair […] and we were walking past [the restaurant] Sexy Fish.
‘And my partner was wearing this ridiculous pair of trousers that he got that were worth about £450 and they’re like fireproof. And they’re so stupid.’
Describing how she’s never been fond of his wipe-down trousers, she added: ‘He says they’re going to last forever and I’m like, “I know”!
‘So we get to the door of Sexy Fish and I say, shall we just have a cocktail? […] And they wouldn’t let us in because he had his £450 fireproof trousers on.’
Whoops! It comes after Grace opened up about the mortifying moment her and her partner were turned away from an exclusive London restaurant for ‘violating’ the formal dress code (pictured in 2021)
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