AceShowbiz - British actor Jim Broadbent has opened up about his mum's struggle with Alzheimer's disease, insisting the condition seemed to cause a change in her behavior "overnight". The "Harry Potter" star admits his mum Dee's dementia was initially put down to old age and he was stunned after noticing her state deteriorate suddenly.

In an interview with Britain's Radio Times, Broadbent recalls an incident when he found his mum at home with a pair of tights over her head, holding a brick and asking, "When are we leaving?" He explains, "There was a sudden change. It happened overnight, like a slip, and she could no longer make connections in the normal way."

Broadbent, who plays an elderly Alzheimer's sufferer in BBC drama "Exile", reveals he was forced to grieve for his beloved mum long before she died at the age of 82. He adds, "The most distressing thing is that the person dies, in effect, before they have physically gone. So you are suffering from a sort of bereavement while their life is still going on."