Cold Feet actor James Nesbitt was the special guest at a fundraising event which raised £166,176 for Alzheimer’s charities.

The inspiration for the Forget Me Not Ball in the grounds of the Nunnery, Douglas, came from Natalie Radford and Fiona Kirkham, whose mum Irene lost her battle with the disease in 2015.

The pair have joined forces with Gemma Wild, Jane Holt and Julie Amphlett, who were in the process of registering a new charity, to establish The Forget Me Not Charity in the island.

Its aim is to supply specialist support to dementia sufferers and their families in the island, initially by setting up and funding an Admiral Nurse Service, providing specialist dementia support.

In a statement, Natalie and Fiona said: ’There is a huge misconception that Alzheimer’s is a mental illness, however it is really just a physiological disease just like cancer.

’Whilst we are sure that our experience with this dreadful disease was not unique, watching Mum trying to deal with her dementia was absolutely heart-breaking.

’We decided to arrange a charity ball to raise money for dementia care in the Isle of Man and also for dementia research.’

SMP Partners director Steve McGowan took on the role of auctioneer. Entertainment was provided through the magical expertise of David Penn and music from The Saturday Night BeeGees. Guests danced into the early hours.

Natalie and Fiona said they were shocked by the latest statistics for the disease.

There are about 1,300 people in the island with some form of dementia and 850,000 people in the UK. This is projected to rise to 1m by 2025.

Proceeds from the ball will be divided between Alzheimer’s Society Isle of Man, The Forget Me Not Charity and Alzheimer’s Research UK, to help with medical research in the hope of finding a cure.