Ruth Langsford has confessed that her mum Joan's battle with Alzheimer's disease is "always in the back of my mind".
The 94-year-old resides in a care home, but Ruth, 65, manages all of her personal requirements, including accompanying her mum to medical appointments and handling any shopping requests.
In an exclusive interview discussing her partnership with Amazon and UK charity Dementia Carers Count, who have joined forces to develop an Alexa guide for carers, the Loose Women host revealed she often experiences guilt if she ever overlooks any of her duties whilst caring for her cherished mum.
Ruth shared: "It's always in the back of my mind. I mean, I am fortunate that her care home is literally around the corner from me, and I can see the roof of her care home through my bedroom window.
"And I always know... I was on holiday recently, I know she's been well looked after, I don't worry. But she's always in the back of my mind anyway, with whatever I'm doing really."
"I take her flowers every week, I pick flowers from the garden. If I'm out and I see something and I think, 'oh mum would like that,' or I'll get her that gardening magazine – she doesn't really read anymore, but she likes the pictures.
"So when it's someone you love, they're always on your mind really, whatever you're doing, and that's a good thing, I like her to be on my mind."
Ruth confessed that she feels an extra burden to look after her mum, as she is now her only daughter following the tragic death of her sister, Julia, in 2019.
She went on to say: "But it's the responsibility thing. I don't have my sister anymore, sadly, and so I feel that kind of... if I forget to make her dental appointment, I feel doubly bad than if I'd forgotten my own dental appointment, and I think, 'that's so bad, I'm such a bad daughter'."
Luckily, the ITV star has discovered that using her Amazon Alexa has simplified things, as the gadget and its associated apps enable her to set audio and visual reminders for appointments, and also assist her in staying organised with shopping lists.
Ruth further explained: "You can put something in your diary, which I often do, but unless you look at the diary... I'll see it [too late], and then think, 'oh gosh, will I get back from work on time?' So to have that reminder and set reminders, I think would be very, very helpful."
The mother-of-one, who shares son Jack with her estranged husband Eamonn Holmes, is eager to highlight the challenges that unpaid carers face every day while caring for their loved ones.
She revealed: "When I read about this campaign I thought, any little thing that can help somebody who's a carer in any way, whether it makes life quicker, easier, whether they just feel more supported, whether they feel less alone – it can be very lonely – then it's a good thing.
"The things that really stood out to me are being able to add things to the shopping list, the calendar, and the reminders, because I'm a very busy person and we know a lot of carers have jobs, maybe have children, and they have a parent or loved one who needs help, and it's a lot of plate spinning, and it's a lot of responsibility, and you forget things.
"So if something pops into my head, I think, 'gosh, I must remember to book a dental appointment for my mum,' I can just say it out loud – 'Alexa, remind me to book a dentist appointment for mum, Alexa, please add shower gel and toothpaste to my shopping list for mum', and it's just done, and I know it's done.
"And actually, with the shopping list, if you've got the app, the list is on your phone. So anything like that just makes life easier for somebody who's caring, and they say there's 700,000 people (unpaid, may I say) carers in the UK, and you have no training, it's just really difficult for people."
Further functionalities and an in-depth guide can be found on www.dementiacarers.org.uk/amazonalexa.
