John Stapleton’s final interview reveals Parkinson’s battle before death at 79

Veteran broadcaster John Stapleton died early this morning in hospital at age 79 after contracting pneumonia, a complication commonly associated with Parkinson's disease, his family said. The death comes after a public final TV interview in which he spoke candidly about living with the neurodegenerative condition.

Stapleton's five-decade career included presenting on Newsnight, Panorama and GMTV's News Hour, making him a familiar face across BBC and commercial television. His work helped shape British broadcast journalism, and he was known for his direct, thoughtful approach to current affairs.

Family statements attributed the pneumonia to his ongoing battle with Parkinson's.

During a final interview on BBC One's Morning Live, Stapleton described the challenges posed by Parkinson's. 'I've still got the tremor, which is difficult and makes dressing a bit of a challenge some mornings,' he said. 'The speech is another problem because you may be able to hear me now loud and clear, I hope you can at least, but if I go into a room where there's ambient noise like a pub, which I do occasionally frequent as you may know, I sometimes have to repeat myself.' He also spoke of stiffness on his left side and a loss of balance that made stairs and sudden movements risky.

Even as illness progressed, he kept a pragmatic, sometimes lighthearted outlook. 'But apart from that life is a barrell of laughs,' he joked in the same appearance, a reminder of his optimism even as he confronted degenerative disease.

He drew on family experience with the disease, noting that his mother had Parkinson's and 'I saw first hand what can happen' as she deteriorated. He also mentioned that his grandmother had the same illness. He said he was receiving help from a speech therapist and a keep-fit instructor who 'absolutely knacker[s] me.'

His death was confirmed by his agent Jackie Gill, who said pneumonia was the immediate cause and that his son Nick and daughter-in-law Lisa had been by his side. 'John died peacefully in hospital this morning,' she said.

In an October interview last year on Morning Live, Stapleton spoke about living with the condition, saying that speaking has been his livelihood for nearly 50 years and that Parkinson's would be with him for life. 'Speaking is how I've earned my living for the best part of 50 years,' he wrote. 'Parkinson's is here with me now for the rest of my life. Best I can do is try and control it. There's no point in being miserable... It won't ever change.'

Stapleton was married to fellow presenter Lynn Faulds Wood, who died from a stroke on April 24, 2020, at the age of 72.

Across five decades, Stapleton's voice remained a fixture of British television, and his openness about his illness helped bring attention to Parkinson's while he continued to work and inspire audiences.