SAD NEWS: BBC legend’s wife issues heartbreaking health update amid star’s Alzheimer’s battle
The legendary sitcom star has been living with Alzheimer’s since 2019.
Bryan Murray from legendary sitcom Bread is living with Alzheimer’s (Image: Getty)
The long-term partner of legendary Bread star Bryan Murray has shared a heartbreaking update about his ongoing battle with Alzheimer’s. The BBC icon, who played Shifty Boswell in the Carla Lane-penned show between 1988 and 1991, was diagnosed with the condition in 2019.
In 2025, Una Crawford O’Brien, his love of two decades, made the difficult decision to admit Bryan to a full-time care home. She has now revealed that, while he appears to be happy there, he doesn’t recognise her on most occasions when she visits him. She also confessed that his communication skills have deteriorated. “Bryan is in great form at the moment, smiling and chatting away. He doesn’t make a lot of sense, but he’s in great form, and that’s so important. I was with him on his birthday, and we went out for a picnic. He also knew me that day,” she said.
“When I gave him his card, he read, ‘Love from Una’ and said, ‘That’s you’. He had a very good day that day, because most days he doesn’t know me,” she told RSVP.
Una added that he is content at home, as he likes the routine, but had experienced a lot of “frustration” and “anger” while living at home.
“He has a lovely room which is decorated with pictures of himself in various productions on television and stage. He doesn’t know himself in the pictures, but he recognises it’s his room. I think – no, I know – he’s more content than when he was home this time last year,” she reflected.
Una and Bryan first met in 2005 on the set of Irish soap Fair City and have been together ever since, but decided not to officially marry, having both already been through the process.
Una Crawford O’Brien has given an update on partner Bryan Murray’s health as he battles Alzheimer’s (Image: Getty)
Bryan only went public with his condition in 2022 but continued to work on Fair City until he announced his retirement in April 2025.
He became a huge star thanks to his role in Bread, which won him a BBC Personality of the Year award. Two years after Bread ended, he played one of the most hated characters in British television when he landed the role of the abusive Trevor Jordache in Brookside.
He made his debut on March 8, 1993 and only appeared on screen for around two months. However, he left a lasting legacy on the programme as the character was brutally murdered by his wife, Mandy (played by Sandra Maitland), to protect their daughter, Beth (Anna Friel).
This led to the famous “body under the patio” storyline as they hid his corpse for two years before it was discovered, and they stood trial.
