Traitors star hailed for stammer visibility

A contestant on the latest series of hit TV show The Traitors has been hailed for raising awareness about stammering.

Jessie Stride, 28, said in the first episode her appearance was "one of the biggest tests ever".

Bhupinder Purewal, founder of the Coventry Stammerers support group, said her presence on the BBC One programme had been "incredibly inspiring" and helped to normalise the condition.

"It really means a lot to see that representation," she told BBC CWR. "When I was growing up I never saw stammering on TV and if I did, it would be a joke or part of a comedy sketch."

Stammering, or stuttering, is a type of speech disorder where the flow of spoken words is altered by repetitions or prolonged sounds.

It affects eight per cent of children and at least one per cent of adults, according to stammer charity STAMMA, with some people not declaring it or realising they have one.

Purewal added: "Seeing Jessie on Traitors has just been so empowering.

"It's great that it's not the focal point of her story, it's great that people haven't asked her about it on the show as she's talking, they're just interested in her ideas, theories and game plan which is really powerful to see someone stammering so openly but talking about something else."

Purewal added: "When I speak in meetings at work and I'm stammering, I find that people try to finish my sentences or aren't sure what's happening but having Jessie on The Traitors, and particularly when she told the audience that she stammered, it was great for raising awareness.

"Because it takes us a bit longer, when we do speak we always have something important to say because we've thought about it that bit more, I think that's what makes stammers unique."

Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, The Traitors series four sees 22 people from across the UK descend on a Scottish Castle to try to win up to £120,000.

The Traitors continues on BBC One and iPlayer on 21 January at 20:00 GMT.

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