November 15th 2023.
Ed Balls and Gareth Gates had a powerful conversation during Wednesday morning's Good Morning Britain segment. After a bizarre bikini confession, the conversation shifted to a far more serious topic: Gareth's stammer. The 39-year-old Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins star has had the affliction since childhood, and he used the opportunity to raise awareness about it.
"My speech is massively effected if I'm tired, under pressure, or stressed," Gareth told Ed and Susanna. "It's a very hostile environment, that's the nature of the show, to push you to your limits. As a result of all that, it was hard. They try to break you down to build you back up, and as a result of that I'm much more confident now and I got a lot out of the show."
Ed replied: "For me, to meet you and talk to you is such an honour, because you were a huge role model to me when I wasn't talking publicly about my stammer, I was a cabinet minsiter. You were out there, having a stammer and also showing you could be at the top of your game being a star, and you gave me confidence."
He went on: "For very many children or their parents watching this programme, the things we say to them about what you can do in your life, you can be an SAS winner, a top singer, a presenter of breakfast television and read the autocue with a stammer. It's amazing, and you inspire people."
The pair shared a hug after telling each other how inspirational they were. Ed thanked Gareth for being a role model and Gareth added: "I think one of my greatest achievements from Pop Idol and now SAS was I've proved to people you can have an affliction and don't let it dictate who you are. You're able to achieve whatever you want in life, you just have to be strong."
"Your stammer is part of you, you wouldn't be Gareth Gates without it," Ed replied, before breaking down in tears. He said: "I couldn't have done what I've done in life without the stammer. I would almost choose to have it because it's made me, that's a really important thing to say to people."
Ed has previously spoken about discovering he had a stammer. "I spent two or three years trying to find out what it was and trying to work out how to handle the fact that sometimes my speeches dried up in TV interviews and in the House of Commons," he said. "It got worse when I became a Cabinet minister. We went off to investigate and was told it was an interiorised stammer."
But, Ed believes his stammer has made him stronger. "The reality is that lots of things I’ve done since, like Strictly, have been much easier to do after dealing with a stammer," he said. "It’s given me the confidence to do many difficult and fabulous things since. If I was choosing again, I’d choose a stammer."
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