He said he did not even know his mental condition was deteriorating and described how the diagnosis came as a shock.

I dont think I realised at all, he told BBC Berkshire.

I don't think I realised at all. It was my wife Mary who began to notice that I would do something quite daft like putting the kettle in the sink and waiting for it to boil.

"Finally I was persuaded to go and see the doctor and eventually I was confronted with the traditional test - a piece of paper with drawings on it, taking a pencil and copying them.

"I thought 'Why are they doing this? A child could do this'.

"But when I started to copy the drawings, that wasn't the case.

"I started to get in a muddle. That's when I began to realise that there was something wrong."

He said not being able to drive anymore was the bitterest blow of all because he could not get to Pinewood from his home in Henley-on-Thames.

This depressed me enormously because my film work was my life.

Suddenly my life was cut off. Since I've had Alzheimer's I've realised how debilitating it is. It can affect your life in so many ways that you don't think about, he said.

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Dementia has robbed me of my freedom, says Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson