Chris Kamara has revealed he’s had to step down from presenting an upcoming TV show due to his ongoing speech problems.
Last year, the belove d sports broadcaster opened up to fans about his apraxia of speech diagnosis, after viewers expressed concern over his slurred speech.
He later filmed a documentary as he learnt more about the condition, met other people who struggled with their speech and underwent treatment.
In a new statement, the 65-year-old has announced that he’s had to pull out of a job ‘reluctantly’.
‘Due to my ongoing speech problems 😢 i have reluctantly pulled out of presenting this year’s UK’s Strongest Man,’ he tweeted.
‘The show will be In Nottingham this weekend. If you fancy? Please go along – it’s spectacular 🏋️♀️🏋🏿♀️.’
The pundit, known fondly as ‘Kammy’, has received a rush of support following his announcement.
One person tweeted in response: ‘Kammy you are a legend of a man. So much so that I don’t think that I’ve ever come across any one person who is so universally love d and who transcends generations, my day love s you, I love you and my son love s you.’
‘Sorry you have been forced to pull out of this Kammy. I know you will keep battling the problem & hopefully will be ready to present future shows,’ someone else said.
Football TV presenter Alison Bender wrote: ‘Oh Kammy, I’m so sorry to hear this. Sending my love . I hope you can feel the collective love and support from everyone x.’
UK’s Strongest Man, a Channel 5 TV series, is taking place from Saturday May 27 to Monday May 29 at the Motorpoint Arena Nottingham.
In March last year, Chris released the statement explaining why his speech sounded different to viewers.
‘Just wanted to let a few of you know who tweeted me today that I am ok ish,’ he shared.
‘Alongside my Thyroid problem I have developed Apraxia of Speech & have been working to get my speech back to normal. Some days it can be a little slow and some days it’s normal. Hopefully I can beat this!’
Apraxia of speech is a motor speceh disorder that can impact an individual’s fluency of speech, while apraxia is a condition that can affect a person’s ability to carry out planned movements.
He delivered a powerful watch with his ITV documentary, which was titled Chris Kamara: Lost For Words, but it took convincing from his friend Ben Shephard to feel comfortable to go through with it.
During an appearance on This Morning, Ben explained to hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary that Chris had been ‘naturally very concerned’ about the programme, because he didn’t want to feel like a ‘victim’.
Chris then added: ‘And then Ben said look, why not? Come out and talk. And I said look, I don’t want to be the victim. He said yeah, but I’d like to raise awareness.’
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First appear at Chris Kamara ‘reluctantly’ pulls out of TV show due to speech problems after fronting documentary about diagnosis
