- Melanie Sykes opens up about her Tourette syndrome
- The connection between autism and Tourette’s in Sykes’s experience
- Understanding Tourette’s syndrome and its characteristics
Melanie Sykes claims she has realized she is “completely wired differently.”
Melanie Sykes claims to have Tourette syndrome.
In 2021, the 52-year-old television and radio anchor, best known for hosting Today with Des and Mel and Let’s Do Lunch, disclosed she had been diagnosed with autism.
She discussed her Tourette’s with Alan Carr on his podcast Life’s A Beach.
She stated, “I am designed entirely differently, and I’m just beginning to comprehend it.
“Where I once wondered, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ I now realize that everything is right with me.”
Lewis Capaldi and Billie Eilish are among the celebrities who have discussed living with Tourette’s.
Last year, Capaldi first discussed his condition, stating that “it’s not a big deal” but that some days are “more painful than others.”
After losing his voice on stage at Glastonbury and receiving vocal support from the audience, he announced a tour hiatus.
She brought up Sykes’s experience after asking Carr if she could blaspheme.
“I’ll try not to,” she said, “because I’ve just discovered I have Tourette’s.”
After the podcast, she tweeted in response to rumors that she had been diagnosed with the condition, “Hello there. I have NOT been ‘diagnosed’ with Tourette’s.
“I self-identify as autistic due to my studies and understanding of the ‘conditions’ that accompany autism in some individuals.”
Tourette’s syndrome is a condition characterized by involuntary vocalizations and movements known as tics.
Vocal tics include wheezing, whistling, and uttering random words and phrases.
According to the NHS, spontaneous swearing is uncommon, affecting approximately one in ten individuals with the condition.
Sykes appeared on the podcast of Carr to discuss her new book, Illuminated: Autism And All The Things I’ve Left Unsaid.
She has previously characterized her autism diagnosis as “life-affirming” and stated that “so many things made sense” afterward.
