Five times Wimbeldon doubles champion Pam Shriver, 63, has revealed she is caring for her James Bond star ex-husband George Lazenby as he battles dementia. The couple, who were married from 2002 until 2011, had an acrimonious divorce which Pam initiated in 2008. "I won't pretend that it was anything less than horrific. We didn't speak for two years," she admitted. However the pair, who share three children have since made peace and Pam said: "As George enters the last phase of his life, I just want to extend this late period of reconciliation and renewal for as long as I can," she said.

George, now 85, who starred as the iconic spy in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service,announced his retirement with an emotional statement in July 2024. At the time he didn't mention his condition simply saying he wanted to: "concentrate on spending more time with my family". He signed off saying: "My sincere gratitude to everyone out there for your love and support over the years. It has meant a lot to me."

However Pam admitted he has been having health issues for some time and when his care home burned down in the Los Angeles wildfires and he "only made it out by a whisker" she says she "realised how much he still means to me".

She stepped up and found him a new assisted-living set-up in Santa Monica and she says the former couple have settled into a routine.

"I try to spend at least an hour with George every day when I am at home. We watch his favourite sports, and it does not matter if the Tennis Channel shows the same matches all the time because he doesn't remember the details.

"We go for walks together, chatting about the kids and all the little anxieties which anyone with an older relative will recognise. His dementia affects his short-term memory but he tells stories about his younger days," she told The Telegraph.

Pam said George is "still very much himself" albeit a softer version. She admits they probably wouldn't have remained in contact after the divorce if it wasn't for their three children - sons George and Sam and daughter Kait.

Confessing it has been a slow "brick by brick" process to rebuild their relationship Pam said their reconcilation began at a Thanksgiving dinner in 2011.

Both had intermediaries who helped them to agree to sit down together for the holiday dinner which she said surprisingly "turned out to be a lovely day".

"She says they now look forward to spending time together and she says they are proof relationships can recover."