Chris Kamara previously shared a heartbreaking confession before receiving a debilitating health diagnosis.
Former Sky Sports star Chris revealed in 2022 that he has apraxia, a motor speech disorder that makes it difficult to speak. It also affects the ex-footballer’s mobility.
At first, he thought he was suffering with dementia. But the thought of getting diagnosed with the disease became too much. So much so, that his ‘brain took him to dark places’.
Chris Kamara health: TV star on dementia fears
Chris – on Blankety Blank this weekend (September 7) – shared his apraxia diagnosis in 2022. The condition affects Chris’ speech daily, and he has previously revealed that on some days he slurs and on others he can’t speak at all.
Following the diagnosis, the former professional footballer and manager turned pundit was forced to quit his Sky Sports gig.
Speaking to MailOnline in 2023, Chris candidly opened up about his fears pre his apraxia diagnosis.
I won’t know my wife. They’d have to see me in a home.
“I didn’t want to be a burden to them,” he said, referring to his beloved family.
Chris Kamara says ‘brain takes you dark places’
Chris then added: “I wasn’t sure if my problem was dementia and I just kept thinking in six months I won’t know my own children. I won’t know my wife. They’d have to see me in a home.”
The brain takes you to places that are dark
The TV star also said: “The brain takes you to places that are dark. I used to escape down to the stables with the horses and just be thinking, ‘What’s going on?'”.
Chris discusses ‘dark times’
The presenter has been open about life with apraxia. In his autobiography, Kammy, which was serialised in The Mirror, Chris laid bare the “dark times” triggered by his illness.
He said: “I’m going to admit something now, something I’ve never mentioned before. It’s hard for me to talk about, so bear with me. As I was gripped by apraxia, and the apparent hopelessness of my future, I’d been escaping more and more down to the animals at the back of the house. Going down there allowed me to unravel my thoughts.”
He then heartbreakingly went on: “And I’ll be honest, some of those thoughts could be dark. I’m a man who has always wanted to help, to provide, to love and nurture those around me. And now I could only see myself as a burden. A shell of the man I used to be that they would be left to look after. Seeing myself like that was like staring into an abyss.”
Blankety Blank is on Saturday September 7 on BBC One at 7.50pm.
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