Holly Willoughby surprised viewers by talking about her dyslexia during an interview on Thursday's episode of This Morning. The mum-of-three was speaking to actor and singer Martin Kemp, who is also dyslexic, and was particularly interested in how he reads and memorises his lines.
"You're dyslexic and I'm dyslexic as well. You say the way you learn and the way you prepare for this is different to other people," Holly said, to which Martin said: "You have to find the way that works for you. Once upon a time I lived not being dyslexic. So it's a weird kind of process that happens in my brain."
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The former EastEnders star explained that he became dyslexic in 1995 when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. "When I read the script I digest it a lot more. Before I go into rehearsals I have to know every single word," he added.
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Holly has previously revealed that she checks the autocue in advance and uses coloured scripts to help her present This Morning. And although she rarely opens up about her condition, the 37-year-old has previously shared her concern that her children will be dyslexic too.
© Photo: InstagramHolly has expressed concern her children may become dyslexic
"I do bear it in mind quite a lot," she told Glasgow's Sunday Post. "Although my mum hasn't been officially tested she has very similar tendencies to me. I don't know whether that's hereditary or not, but I do think about that. Schools are so much more advanced in looking out for it than when I was at school."
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Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that is estimated to affect up to one in every ten to 20 people in the UK to some degree. It causes problems with certain abilities used for learning, such as reading and writing, but doesn't affect intelligence. People with dyslexia may read and write very slowly, confuse the order of letters in words or have poor or inconsistent spelling. Although the exact cause of dyslexia isn't known, it often appears to run in families.
