David Baddiel describes his late father’s ‘amazing’ dementia battle
David Baddiel shares irreverent eulogy he gave at his dad’s funeral, recalling how he told Michael Barrymore Strike It Lucky was s***, banned visits from his children’s friends in case they ate toast and called his sons ‘w*****s’
Comedian David Baddiel, 57, shared speech he delivered at his father’s funeralDavid’s dad Colin had Pick’s disease, which is a type of frontotemporal dementiaHe announced father died in January, saying he has left ‘a huge hole in my sky’Opened up about his battle with dementia where he remained resolutely himself
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David Baddiel has shared the hilariously irreverent eulogy he gave at his father’s funeral, praising his ability to retain his true character, despite battling dementia.
The comedian’s father Colin passed away earlier this month after suffering for years from Pick’s disease, a type of frontotemporal dementia which can include personality and behavioural changes.
In the eulogy David gave at his funeral, shared with the Sunday Times, the 57-year-old presenter described growing up in London with his parents and brothers Ivan and Dan, and how his father expressed love through ‘calling us w******’.
‘It was an amazing battle he had with dementia,’ said David. ‘Dementia takes away who you are, but it found it a struggle to do that with Colin Baddiel because he was so deeply who he was.’
David Baddiel opened up about his late father’s ‘amazing’ battle with dementia in the moving speech he delivered at his funeral. The comedian is pictured with his father and brother Ivan (left) for 2017 Channel 4 documentary The Trouble with Dad
The comedian, who was born in New York, described growing up in London where his father sold Dinky Toys at Grays Antique Market after being made redundant from his job at Unilever in the 1980s.
David said that despite being constantly concerned about money, his dad never censored himself around customers – once running into Michael Barrymore and telling him his TV show Strike It Lucky was ‘s**t’.
Always careful with money, David described how his friends were banned from coming over to their home as a child in case they got hungry and decided to make some toast.
Not one for lavish holidays, his parents spent their honeymoon at his best friend Lionel’s house in Thornbury, Gloucestershire – however were told off by his wife for having sex too loudly.
In the heartfelt eulogy David, pictured in 2019, gave at his funeral, the 57-year-old presenter revealed how his father remained resolutely himself until the end of his life
David also explained how his dad and Lionel fell out in the 1980s over a second-hand Austin Princess, something over which Colin felt so strongly he refused to speak to his best friend ever again.
He explained how his father, who he described as ‘not a man of the emotions’, was passionate about science, football and rough-and-tumble play’ with his children.
‘It’s not that he couldn’t express love. It’s just that he could only express it through insults’, he said.
He recalled his father’s diagnosis with Pick’s disease and shared memories of the documentary he made about his dad’s condition back in 2017, titled The Trouble with Dad.
The comedian took to Twitter to post a touching tribute to his father Colin, pictured with his three sons David, Ivan and Dan
At one point the director asked David whether Colin had ever verbalised his love for his sons, to which he replied: ‘No. Don’t be ridiculous’.
After the director said that David believed his might not love him, Colin described the notion as ‘absolute b*llocks’ – something the comedian called the ‘closest thing’ to his dad professing his love for his son.
David spoke of the social media fame his father gained later in his life, adding that his regular updates about his dad helped others to ‘change the way they think about the presence of that disease in their own lives’.
In the candid 2017 documentary, the comedian admitted he could feel ‘frightened’ of his father at times.
He made the confession after a discussion with his brother Ivor about his father’s care, saying: ‘I think one of the things that makes it difficult for us to imagine looking after our dad, is that on some level we are both still frightened of him.’
His father’s brash personality – which David added always included a lot of swearing – had been heightened to a degree that proved uncomfortable for David.
David, who previously shared his concerns about eventually suffering from dementia himself, also recalled the type of relationship he and his brothers had with their father growing up.
David recalled his father’s diagnosis with Pick’s disease and shared memories of the documentary he made about his dad’s condition back in 2017, titled The Trouble with Dad
He said: ‘I’ve never had a Hollywood father-son relationship with my dad, it’s mainly abusive banter. But now what has happened is the dementia has made it more extreme.
‘I think I would like to have some proper emotional connection with him before he dies… But I don’t know how that is going to happen now.’
Filmed over the course of a year, David explained how after the sudden death of his mother Sarah Fabian Baddiel in 2014, at the age of 75, he was forced to repeatedly tell his father that she had passed.
David said the reasons behind making the film were to try and broaden the public’s views on dementia.
‘One reason I want to talk about my dad’s dementia publicly is because people have a very narrow single image of what dementia is, and actually it is much more complicated than that. What you get are fictionalised ideas of dementia.
‘I think we need to look at the dark rainbow of dementia and the different way in which it manifests.’
