Chris Kamara has admitted he felt ashamed when he was first diganosed with Apraxia, a motor disorder caused by damage to the brain that significantly affects speech.

The broadcaster was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid in 2021 and then apraxia of speech, which led to him stepping away from the majority of his TV roles for a time.

Chris has explained how he kept his diagnosis a secret for a year, even from his wife Anne, and how his friend Kate Garraway helped him seek treatment.

Speaking about the day he first noticed something was wrong, Chris told ITV‘s Lorraine on Monday how ‘I woke up one day and went downstairs and tried to talk to my wife and it was slow from my brain to my mouth, and I thought I must have had too much to drink the night before.’

Chris Kamara has admitted he felt ashamed when he was first diganosed with Apraxia, a motor disorder caused by damage to the brain that significantly affects speech

Chris told ITV ‘s Lorraine on Monday how ‘I woke up one day and went downstairs and tried to talk to my wife and I thought I must have had too much to drink the night before’

‘And a few hours later I was slurring my words and then you realise something is wrong.’

Apraxia is a little-understood neurological condition that affects the body’s ability to perform natural motor functions, and apraxia of speech is a specific motor speech disorder that makes it difficult to speak.

‘I went through the first year and half on my own, I told no-one but people guessed, my wife guessed. Eventually people started to realise, my reports weren’t slick, they were slow.’

‘I thought I’d be a hinderence to the family.  I realise now it was stupid to think that. I was also ashamed. It gets me upset as I say it, I was ashamed of my condition.’

He added: ‘I apologise to anyone who has a speech problem out there, don’t be ashamed, get the help. I really am upset I thought they (family) wouldn’t look after me if I had a serious condition.’

Lorraine then revealed that it was Good Morning Britain star Kate Garraway who suggested a course of treatment for Chris in Brazil.

‘Experimental treatment,’ Chris explained. ‘Now the fluency is back but the only thing I am missing is the speed and I used to talk around 300mph but its slowly coming back.’

‘The treatment has been amazing but not been sanctioned by the world medical boards. I will be campaigning for them to try and get it over here.’

‘I kept it a secret for a year,’ he explained. ‘But my wife noticed and people asked if I was drunk’

Lorraine then revealed that it was Good Morning Britain star Kate Garraway who suggested a course of treatment for Chris in Brazil

Chris has previously thanked Kate’s GMB co-star Ben Shepherd – and his co-host on Saturday night show Ninja Warrior UK – after he revealed how the presenter persuaded him to share his speech disorder publicly when viewers thought he was slurring.

‘Can I say a big thank you to Ben because none of this would have happened without your help,’ he said during a GMB interview last month.

‘I’m so glad Ben talked to me about doing GMB because in many ways, I’d say I’m 70% better since that day. Acceptance was the hardest thing but now I’ve got this clear determination to help other people with speech conditions.’

WHAT IS APRAXIA OF SPEECH?

Apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder that makes it difficult to speak.

This disorder can make saying the right sounds and words very difficult and can be observed as slurring.

It is caused by damage to the parts of the brain that control how muscles move, leading to apraxia of speech.

Chris has previously admitted that he is given a painful reminder of his biggest TV regret each time ITV announces the line-up for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

Discussing his close friendship with hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly in new memoir Kammy: My Unbelievable Life, the former footballer, pundit and TV presenter revealed he had been approached to appear on the show numerous times before he was diagnosed with the condition.

He wrote: ‘I struggle to watch myself in my pre-apraxia days – not that I was ever a big fan of watching myself on TV in the first place – so I haven’t had a trawl through YouTube, but I have many happy memories to carry me through, such as the six years I appeared on Saturday Night Takeaway with the brilliant Ant and Dec.

‘I’d have seen even more of them had I said yes to the regular requests to go on I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, but I always turned the jungle down because of my commitment to Soccer Saturday and Goals on Sunday.’

He added: ‘My intention was to do it one day, once my Sky contract came to an end, but I’m in no shape to do so now, sadly. Neither my body nor mind could cope.

‘I couldn’t face hearing the words, ‘Chris Kamara is exempt from this task due to health issues.’ No chance. It’s a big regret.’

Health: The presenter was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid in 2021 and then apraxia of speech , which led to him stepping away from the majority of his broadcasting roles