What's wrong with my azalea?

[BabaJohns]

Can anyone help me with my poorly azalea please? It is 3 years old and has flowered beautifully every year until now. It is brittle and the leaves come away easily when touched. It is browning all over and I assumed it was dead but if I cut a stem low down it is still alive (green) inside. Is it frost or sun damaged or diseased rather than dead? Rust? Shall I cut it right back and hope it rejuvenates? I can't see any flower buds so I don't think I've got much to lose by trying that, but any words of wisdom would be much appreciated. Annoyingly I have an annual competition with a relative for the best show as we bought them at the same time, I don't think I'll be winning this year!

Oops posted twice by accident and can't find where to report it. Feel free to report this one for deletion!

I would cut it right back then replant in fresh ericaceous compost. The first pic looks very dead but it might perk up.

How upsetting. Do you think it’s vine weevil?

Tip out the plant and look for whit grubs with orange heads. They eat the roots.

Has it been in the same pot for four years?

A couple of years ago I read that azaleas can be pruned back very hard every year after flowering and it gives good fresh growth and plenty of flowers. This transformed mine from lots of old, feared looking branches with an occasional flower to a beauty.

You posted in AIBU, didn't you? I'd let the two posts stand - you'll get different audiences.

If you look n the heading line of your post, there's a button that says "report" - you can use this to request MN to remove the post.