logo
Strictly star John Whaite opens up on his struggle with health condition that 'makes life almost unbearable'

Strictly star John Whaite opens up on his struggle with health condition that 'makes life almost unbearable'

Daily Mail​a day ago

John Whaite has opened up about his struggles with ADHD, admitting that the health condition can sometimes 'make life almost unbearable'.
The former Strictly Come Dancing star, 36, revealed that he had been diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) in 2023, noting at the time that he wished he'd found out 'sooner' so he could include it in his memoir.
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects concentration, impulse control and activity levels. Common symptoms include restlessness, distractibility, forgetfulness, difficulty following instructions or managing time, and making impulsive decisions.
And taking to Instagram on Sunday, John gave an update on living with the condition, telling his fans that while it's his 'superpower', it can almost make life 'confusing.'
He wrote: 'Much as #ADHD can be a superpower, sometimes it makes life confusing. Sometimes it makes life almost unbearable. I was promised I'd get older and wiser, but sometimes I feel like I'm just an ageing fool.'
From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop.
John went on to go into further detail on his condition in a heartfelt video as he shared how it affects him.
He said: 'Oh can we just talk about the reality of life with ADHD because you know a lot of the time we think we have a superpower and sometimes it can serve us very well.
'It can serve us in so many ways where we can fixate on things and achieve things and create things and really do the best work or something imaginable but often that's such a pyrrhic victory because we bleed ourselves dry or we exhaust ourselves in doing it or we abandon plans or friends or family and the reality of ADHD is that it can make us believe that what we're doing in life sometimes is the exactly the righteous course of action for us.
'It's the right path in spite of what people who love us might say. And then when it gets to the point where we are our interest fizzles away, the reality kicks in and we see the truth and we see the situation for what it is.
'At that point we're left kind of thinking f***, I've given up so much for this. I've ignored people who love me for this.
'And this is really exhausting because usually the older you get the wise you get. And while that can still be true in a situation where you have ADHD I think the reality.
'As you get older you don't necessarily get wiser, you just get older and when you get older and you keep making silly little mistakes people become less tolerant of those mistakes because you're meant to be older and wiser.'
The Great British Bake Off winner went on to say: 'So much as we can say that ADHD is a superpower it is, also lets admit it concrete block around us and I think we need to acknowledge.
'You know there's so much positivity, but on the flip side of it can be so crippling and so dehumanising and annoying."
'If I could chose to live life neurotypically at this point in my life, I would jump at the chance and I know that's not very pro ADHD it's not very kind of holding up the flag our community but sometimes it's just exhausting, it's horrific and sometimes I f****** hate it.'
In 2023, John revealed that he was revealing his ADHD diagnosis to help others.
He has previously been very honest about his mental health, sharing his battle with depression and bulimia and difficult relationship with alcohol.
Sharing a photo of himself, John wrote: 'Am I posting this for a dopamine rush, or to inform? Well, it turns out, a little bit of both. Because I have ADHD, which explains a lot.
'I've known my behaviour over the past decade (and my thinking for the past 30-odd years) has not been 'normal'.
'I've often questioned whether I have some personality disorder, deep-rooted psychological trauma, or just a brain that isn't quite wired up right.
'I've been impulsive and borderline addicted (to sex, porn, shopping, food, drink, drugs), and have made some very questionable decisions.
'But these weren't decisions, they were compulsions, because of the neurological functioning inside my head.'
Staying positive, he added: 'But it's not all bad. Because I truly believe it's my ADHD that has allowed me to become so obsessed and focussed on things I like, that I work hard at them until I'm burnt out.
'While burn-out isn't great, the skills I've garnered and career paths I've taken along the way, have been a huge part of my strength and success. And I'm grateful for those chances and opportunities.
'But I'm even more grateful for the knowledge that I have ADHD. Because instantly the shame and guilt can be replaced with conversation - destruction becomes construction.'
He continued: 'I wasn't going to share this. I was going to keep it for myself. But I know from speaking openly about depression, alcohol use, bulimia, that people can seek comfort from the experiences of others. I know I certainly have.
'So, I may be looking for a dopamine rush here. I may be doing my duty as someone in the public eye to share my lived experience. Either way, make of this what you will.
'A huge heartfelt thank you to @shahna_h (and @irondoctorhaz) for their kindness and support ❤️.'
He concluded: 'I just wish I'd known this sooner, so I could have written about it in my memoir (which has already gone to print), but now when you read it, I think you'll understand it even better.'
WHAT IS ADHD?
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a behavioural condition defined by inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.
It affects around five per cent of children in the US. Some 3.6 per cent of boys and 0.85 per cent of girls suffer in the UK.
Symptoms typically appear at an early age and become more noticeable as a child grows. These can also include:
Constant fidgeting
Poor concentration
Excessive movement or talking
Acting without thinking
Inability to deal with stress
Little or no sense of danger
Careless mistakes
Mood swings
Forgetfulness
Difficulty organising tasks
Continually starting new tasks before finishing old ones
Inability to listen or carry out instructions
Most cases are diagnosed between six and 12 years old. Adults can also suffer, but there is less research into this.
ADHD's exact cause is unclear but is thought to involve genetic mutations that affect a person's brain function and structure.
Premature babies and those with epilepsy or brain damage are more at risk.
ADHD is also linked to anxiety, depression, insomnia, Tourette's and epilepsy.
There is no cure.
A combination of medication and therapy is usually recommended to relieve symptoms and make day-to-day life easier.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Helen Skelton reveals she has 'finally found her happiness'
Helen Skelton reveals she has 'finally found her happiness'

Glasgow Times

time17 minutes ago

  • Glasgow Times

Helen Skelton reveals she has 'finally found her happiness'

The 41-year-old presenter of Countryfile and On The Farm is no stranger to soaking up the great outdoors. A mum-of-three, she says getting out is always her priority, no matter how long her to-do list is. Speaking to Closer magazine, she said: "I've always loved being outdoors, it's so important to me. We've had lots of new arrivals on the farm over the last few days - one of them being this adorable American Miniature Horse, pictured with mum Pearl! Watch as Farmer Rob checked in on them yesterday: — Cannon Hall Farm (@CannonHallFarm) May 29, 2025 "I grew up on a farm surrounded by fields, and the ability to wake up and look at greenery everyday is something I've never taken for granted - it brings me so much happiness. "I might have a million things to do but I'll still go for a swim, paddle or walk. Even if I've got dishes to do, bills to sort and emails to answer, prioritising being outside and doing something active is as important to me as waking up and brushing my teeth." "I take one day at a time and I don't overthink things. My motto in life has always been, "How do you eat an elephant?" You just go little by little, bit by bit. Recommended reading: "I break it down, and I use that approach with everything. I might have kayaked 2010 miles down the Amazon, but in my head I only ever kayaked 16 miles loads of times. I've run loads of marathons, but in my head I haven't. I've only ever run five miles loads of times. "When I did Strictly Come Dancing, my friends would be thinking about what their next dance was, but I never ever let Gorka [Marquez] talk about the next week. Think about what you need to do today and tomorrow. "That'll get you one step closer to where you'd ultimately like to be."

I live with my ex in a tiny flat even though we broke up - we still share a bed but neither of us can afford to move out
I live with my ex in a tiny flat even though we broke up - we still share a bed but neither of us can afford to move out

Daily Mail​

time18 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

I live with my ex in a tiny flat even though we broke up - we still share a bed but neither of us can afford to move out

A woman has revealed how she's still living with her ex-boyfriend in a tiny flat - even though they broke up months earlier. Bethany Lee, who is from Devon, broke up with her fiancé David Smith around three months ago. The couple, who had been together for two and a half years and share one-year-old son Finneas, are still sharing the cooking and cleaning - and even sleep in the same bed. Bethany, who is in her late 20s, says that neither of them can afford to move out so for now they're making do in the 'tiny' two-bedroom flat in Derbyshire. She explained that the break-up was 'pretty mutual' and they still 'get along really well as friends'. In a video on TikTok, where she's posting with the aim to raise enough money to move out, Bethany said: 'I've been living with my ex-boyfriend for three months now and everyone's a bit interested in it. 'We just can't afford to live separately. We can hardly afford to live here together in this cheap little flat as it is because of the cost of living crisis.' 'It's not as weird as you think. Not ideal though,' she confessed in the comment section. Bethany and David met in their first year of university and were in the same halls. But their relationship didn't immediately go to plan, as Bethany became pregnant after knowing each other for just three months. 'Shock, our relationship didn't work out,' she said in her TikTok video. Now, her ex-partner works five to six days a week in management, while she works three days a week as a receptionist. This means that she will mainly do the cooking and cleaning during the week, to give her ex time with their son on his days off. She explained that initially post break-up, they'd tried to do things separately, such as washing and cooking, but it 'didn't work out' as the space they're sharing is so small. She explained: 'Now our set up is very similar to how it would be when we were in a relationship, where I cook and I do a lot more of the housework and he is out at work a lot more hours than I am.' Her partner did sleep on the sofa initially and they considered getting a sofa bed, but decided the money would be better used to save towards her moving out. Giving her followers a tour of her flat, Beth said it has 'no storage' and only one cupboard, containing the boiler. Moving onto the kitchen, she compared it to a 'glorified hallway with cupboards'. 'Every inch of space has been used to store stuff,' she said. In the comments, she admitted it's 'hard' but she doesn't 'know what else to do'. However, she did admit in the comment section that they're no longer having sex. Rushing to the comments, many were left baffled at Bethany and David's living arrangements. They said: 'I'm gonna say it. You can't be friends with an EX, because you either never loved or you are still in love with them'; 'You guys are basically a married couple without realising it.' Bethany admitted she does the majority of the cleaning as David is often at work Others thought it was unfair that Bethany was taking on the majority of the housework, especially since the breakup. One wrote: 'So he's basically got a live in maid sorry you deserve better girl look up the mental load.' A second said: 'I think he should pay you or cover more of the rent for the work you do for him,' while a third added: 'Girl you have been brainwashed.' However, another person praised the former couple as 'Brilliant parents. Total respect to you both.' In another video, Beth shared clips of herself 'cleaning up for the third time that day' before preparing dinner for her son and her ex. After receiving backlash, she clarified in another video that she enjoys the cleaning, and can make money by filming herself doing it on TikTok. Now she's started to look around for a new place to live, and hopes to go back to university in September to study psychology.

Richard Wilson's fantastic King Lear is proof that the BBC should be doing more Shakespeare
Richard Wilson's fantastic King Lear is proof that the BBC should be doing more Shakespeare

Telegraph

time24 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

Richard Wilson's fantastic King Lear is proof that the BBC should be doing more Shakespeare

According to the actor Jonathan Pryce, you should play Lear while your back can still handle it. Pryce played the octogenarian king when he was a mere 65, and still put his back out staggering onstage with Cordelia in his arms. Drama on 4: King Lear (Radio 4, Sunday) gave us a satisfying reminder that radio drama can reach the places other mediums can't, as the 89-year-old Richard Wilson took on the role – becoming the oldest British actor to do so in the process. When he staggers on with Cordelia in Sunday's concluding part, Wilson's back will be safe. Clive Brill's production, while relatively no-frills, is a treat, as well as being a potential blueprint for BBC radio drama. Wilson is the eye-catching name at the top of the bill, but the undercard isn't too shabby either – Toby Jones as Gloucester, David Tennant as Edmund, Greta Scacchi as Goneril, Tamsin Greig as Regan. Renowned cellist Steven Isserlis adds interstitial howls from his bow, which begin a little overbearing but grow in stature as the play increases in intensity. Among the less starry cast, Trevor Fox's Geordie Fool stands out. However, it is Wilson that this production will be judged on. His Lear is a slow-burn, beginning, as he vaingloriously beseeches his daughters to shower him with sycophancy in return for a share of the kingdom, in a stubbornly low gear. It is a little jarring at first, with Lear sounding mildly peeved rather than furious at Cordelia's refusal to play ball. 'Come not between a dragon and his wrath,' he says, sounding more like a sleepy guard dog lazing in the sun. While it's sensible not to start Lear at too high a pitch – he has some serious emotional mountains to climb later – I was, in those very early scenes, left wanting a bit more p--s and vinegar from Wilson. His stolid, pompous statesman act felt like it was going to be overshadowed by Tennant's duplicitous bastard (in every sense of the word) Edmund. Tennant gave the listener a fairground ride of an opening soliloquy ('Why brand they us / With base? with baseness? bastardy? base, base?') and his slippery chameleon act was matched by an emotionally raw performance from Jones, who reacted to Edgar's invented betrayal with the sort of passion previously missing from Wilson. Perhaps Wilson was to play an anchor role next to the pyrotechnics from his younger castmates. I was, like Lear, too quick to rush judgement and gradually Wilson's haughty, dismissive old king began to take a grip on proceedings. His Lear is a man who has grown used to hearing no dissent, to having his every whim catered to. When things do not go his way, he does not get angry (at first), because he does not need to – he'll still win. At the point Cordelia 'betrays' him, his reaction is not hot anger, but a surprised disappointment followed by a swift execution. He is vain, thin-skinned, completely in love with his own power, and unwilling to brook any kind of dissent or believe the cards will not fall for him. 'Fetch me a better answer,' he says when Regan and Goneril will not meet him. There is, yes, something very Trumpian about this Lear. If there's a sense that Wilson is saving something up for the more explosive events of this weekend's instalment, that's understandable, but it's tricky to truly give a verdict on his Lear before he has wandered the heath and delivered the most memorable lines ('Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks!', 'Howl, howl, howl, howl!', 'I don't believe it!' etc). Yet what a pleasure it is to hear him, age 89, delivering the words that presumably he'd long given up imagining he would. The production is also a salute to the power of the older actor – Matthew Marsh (Kent) is 70, Scacchi is 65, Jones and Greig are 58. Yet that cast is significant for another reason – put this production on in the West End, with the same actors, and you'd be paying more than £100 to sit behind a pillar or peer at them dimly from the upper circle. With theatre pricing becoming increasingly eye-watering, the BBC has a chance to remind everyone (ahead of charter renewal) of its essential place in British culture. With the Corporation's sway and reputation, they could put a star-name Shakespeare on once a month, or even once a week, increasing access beyond those who can justify the exorbitant West End fees. Not only can BBC radio drama save Wilson's back, it can save something that should be coursing through the nation's veins.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store