ANYONE watching actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales on TV together can understand what real love is all about.

The elderly couple have been together for more than 50 years, but now 81 year-old West has to deal with the sad daily condition of his 83 year-old wife as she loses her battle with Alzheimer’s.

Despite this, they are both very entertaining in their TV series about narrowboating around the country’s canals. Her distinctive voice can still be heard in voiceovers and other acting work, but their home life is now very different.

West spoke movingly about its realities in Piers Morgan’s Real Lives, and he not only showed the remarkable relationship he and his wife still have but the strength it takes to deal with this awful disease which robs individuals of their personality and identity.

Their plight will have resonated with many local people caring for a partner or family member with dementia, but it was also very uplifting to see such devotion and sheer love shining through.