Melanie Sykes has revealed she self identifies with Tourette’s after previously detailing her ‘life changing’ autism battle.
Speaking on Alan Carr’s Life’s a Beach podcast the TV star, 52, admitted she was ‘wired completely different’ and was ‘only now’ understanding how the illness affected her day-to-day life.
Tourette’s is a neurological condition which causes involuntary muscle movements and sounds known as tics.
It comes after Lewis Capaldi, 26, revealed his own battle with the condition last year which has gone on to affect his onstage performances.
Mel revealed she self identifies because of her ‘studies and understanding of the pre existing ‘conditions’ that are hand in hand in some autistic people’.
Candid: Melanie Sykes, 52, has revealed she self identifies with Tourette’s after previously detailing her ‘life changing’ autism battle
Opening up: Speaking on Alan Carr’s Life’s a Beach podcast the TV star admitted she was ‘wired completely different’ and was ‘only now’ understanding how the condition affected her day-to-day life
During the podcast, she recalled her long working relationship with pal Alan saying: ‘It’s been over a decade, for f*** sake! Can you swear on this?’
After the comedian reassured her that she could, Melanie replied: ‘Oh good, but I’ll try not to, because I’ve just discovered I have Tourette’s’.
‘I describe in the book how I laugh at really inappropriate things. I am wired a completely different way and I’m only just understanding it’.
‘Where I used to think “what’s wrong with me?” Now I know it’s everything that’s right with me’.
Last month Capaldi’s fans rallied around the star after a clip of him struggling to sing at Glastonbury due to his Tourette’s symptoms went viral online.
The hitmaker became emotional as he started losing his voice while singing, prompting him to apologise to the crowds. He later announced he would be taking more time off to focus on his health.
As he coughed and struggled to sing, his supportive fans helped him finish one of his hit tracks, and they have since flooded him with social media messages of support.
Melanie was on the the podcast to promote her tell-all book Illuminated: Autism and all the Things I’ve Left Unsaid.
Ill health: It comes after Lewis Capaldi, 26, revealed his own battle with the condition last year which has gone on to affect his onstage performances (Pictured at Glastonbury)
Diagnosis: Tourette’s is a neurological condition which causes involuntary muscle movements and sounds known as tics
Statement: Mel revealed she self identifies because of her ‘studies and understanding of the pre existing ‘conditions’ that are hand in hand in some autistic people’
She previously told The Mirror that her book will touch on ‘fame, motherhood, self-medicating and trauma,’ as well as coming back from a ‘huge breakdown’ in the wake of her autism diagnosis.
She said: ‘Getting a late diagnosis and having to learn about and understand my neurodivergent mind and sensitivities has indeed unlocked my happiness but it’s been an arduous road.
‘Writing this book sometimes felt like I was performing open-heart surgery on myself but I knew how necessary it was. I can now put it out into the world unapologetically and confidently because sharing all the wisdom my life has given me makes it all worthwhile.
Mel added that ‘her story is one of honesty, resilience and growth in the face of challenge. By turns hard-hitting and joyful, it’s packed with surprise, hope and calls to action’.
She also said that she has wanted to write a book for some time, and her diagnosis ‘shone light across my entire life but took time to unpick.’
The former Today with Des and Mel host was diagnosed with autism in 2021, as her 18-year-old son Valentino has the same developmental issue.
Melanie has previously spoken openly about having autism, appearing on John Bishop’s podcast Three Little Words back in April.
During the podcast, Melanie said that she doesn’t see autism as a ‘disorder’ and told how it made ‘complete sense’ when she was diagnosed.
She began: ‘My youngest son has autism, and I’ve been diagnosed with it too. I’ve had to look at what it all means now, and it makes complete and utter sense.’
Pals: Melanie made the candid revelation on pal Alan Carr’s podcast (pictured together in 2019)
Open: On John Bishop’s podcast Three Little Words in April, Melanie said that she doesn’t see autism as a ‘disorder’ and told how it made ‘complete sense’ when she was diagnosed
Comedian John then asked her if she had been diagnosed as a child, would she have felt limited in what she could do in her life in terms of forging a career in showbiz.
‘There’s no space for autistic people in this world,’ Melanie said, as she told John there wasn’t an ‘ideal’ profession that would suit someone on the spectrum.
‘This is another thing that I’m going to change,’ she explained. ‘Because there is no walks of life where it’s okay, people are still scratching their head about autistic people and what does it mean.
‘These people have got so much to offer the world, I do not see it as a disorder at all. It’s just a different wiring of you,’ the star added.
Lewis Capaldi opened up about his heartbreaking struggle with Tourette’s syndrome in a Netflix documentary released two months before having symptoms while performing at Glastonbury festival.
The singer-songwriter became emotional as he started losing his voice on stage during the five-day music extravaganza, prompting him to apologise to the crowds – who then helped him finish his songs in heartwarming footage that quickly went viral.
He took to social media today to announce he will not be touring ‘for the foreseeable future’ as it is ‘obvious’ he needs to spend ‘much more time getting my mental and physical health in order.’