Ed Balls breaks down in tears live on GMB as he reveals how Gareth Gates’ stammer inspired him to go public about his own speech impediment, which David Cameron famously mocked in the House of Commons in 2016

Ed Balls couldn’t hold back his tears as he emotionally interviewed Gareth Gates about his stammer on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday.

The presenter and former Labor cabinet minister, 56, has previously spoken about his “decade-long battle” with a stutter, which famously saw him ridiculed in the House of Commons by David Cameron in 2016.

Ed described Gareth, 39, as an “inspiration” after he was announced as the winner of this year’s Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins last week.

Speaking to co-host Susanna Reid, Ed praised the singer and actor for “showing him how to stand out in public with a speech impediment.”

Ed burst into tears and said: “You inspired me, you really did.” I thought if Gareth Gates can do it, I can do it too.

“I thought if he can be public, I can be public and it was really hard, but I did it because you showed me how to do it.”

Emotional: Ed Balls couldn’t hold back his tears as he emotionally interviewed Gareth Gates on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday about his stammer, after battling the speech disorder himself for ten years

‘Inspirational’: The 56-year-old presenter described Gareth, 39, as an ‘inspiration’

Ridicule: The presenter and former Labor cabinet minister, 56, has previously spoken with a stutter about his ‘decade-long battle’ which saw him famously ridiculed by David Cameron in the House of Commons in 2016 (pictured)

Gareth hugged Ed and replied: “Thank you for saying it means a lot.” Health. Just never give up!’

He added: “I proved to people that you can have a condition and not let it dictate who you are. “You can achieve anything you want in life. You just have to be strong.

“My ability to speak is massively impaired when I’m tired or stressed.” Under pressure. That’s the nature of the show [Celebrity SAS] – to push you to your limits. It was hard. I’m much more confident now. I got quite a lot from the show.

Gareth, who came second in the first series of ITV talent show Pop Idol in 2002, went on to say he was “delighted” to stutter when he became famous.

He added: “It made me stand out from the crowd.” I was really glad I stuttered!

“It’s a fight every day. You are unable to be the person you want to be. You are held back by your suffering. It’s made me a much stronger person.’

Ed first revealed in 2010 that he struggled with a stutter, admitting he didn’t know he had one until he was “already in the closet” and found out he had difficulty in certain situations, publicly to speak.

At that time the British Stammering Association announced that Ed had become a patron of the association. CEO Norbert Lieckfeldt praised him for speaking publicly about his stuttering.

During an interview with the Independent in 2012, he said: “When I was elected as an MP in 2004, I spoke to my father after the BBC. Still questions? and he said, “You have the same thing as me, but I don’t know what it is.”

“I spent two or three years trying to figure out what it was and figuring out how to deal with the fact that my speeches sometimes dried up in television interviews and in the House of Commons.”

In 2016, Ed spoke openly about his “decade-long battle” with a stutter and how taunts from then-Prime Minister David Cameron led him to go public about his condition.

The former shadow chancellor said he was only diagnosed with the condition – which caused convulsions during speeches and debates – when he was 41.

“You showed me how to do it”: Ed praised the singer and actor for “showing him how to stand out in public with a speech impediment.”

Ed burst into tears and said: “You inspired me, you really did.” I thought if Gareth Gates can do it, I can do it too. It was really hard, but I did it because you showed me how to do it.

Gareth hugged Ed and replied: “Thank you for saying it means a lot.” Health. Just never give up! I proved to people that you can have an illness and not let it dictate who you are.

In his book Speaking Out: Lessons in Life and Politics, he recalls how Cameron led the ridicule from the front bench of the House of Commons – and nicknamed him “Blinky Balls”.

The taunts eventually convinced Ed to reveal his problem publicly – first in a newspaper article and then in a radio interview, which, he admits, “brought tears to his eyes.”

He first noticed his stutter when he took up his first ministerial post in 2006. In every television interview, “there was at least one moment when my voice faltered and my eyes stared as I clenched my throat and my fist,” he wrote.

“It didn’t take long for people to understand it. I learned that I had been nicknamed “Blinky Balls” in Conservative central office, supposedly thanks to Cameron.

“When the Tories got a chance to see me up close on the other side of the checkpoint, a new phenomenon began: if I hesitated in answering a question, they would shout “Errrr,” which made me hesitate even more, and the laughter and the mocking “Errrr’s”. would get louder.’

A year later, as School Secretary, he tried to read a statement in the House of Commons – “but for seconds I couldn’t say anything.” When I finally sat down, I heard the late, great Gwyneth Dunwoody say in a very loud voice: “He should be Foreign Secretary , and he can’t even get his words out.”

When one of his colleagues suggested he consult the British Stammering Association website, his first thought was, ‘Why am I reading this? I don’t stutter.’

However, he was diagnosed with an “internalized stutter,” commonly known as a stutter. “I thought, ‘Here I am, 41 years old, a cabinet minister, and I’ve only just found out I have a stutter,'” he recalled. The helper put him in touch with a therapist.

Pop Idol: Gareth, who came runner-up in the first series of ITV talent show Pop Idol in 2002 (pictured left, with Will Young right), said he was “delighted” he stammered when he became famous

He added: “I proved to people that you can have a condition and not let it dictate who you are. “You can achieve anything you want in life. You just have to be strong’

“My ability to speak is massively impaired when I’m tired or stressed.” Under pressure. That’s the nature of the show [Celebrity SAS] – to push you to your limits. It was hard. I’m much more confident now. I got quite a lot from the show.

“I’m ashamed to say I was both skeptical and somewhat apprehensive about this prospect,” Ed said. “It all felt a little bit like Cherie Blair and Carole Caplin.”

The therapist taught him to slow down the rate of his speech, “to calm down and gain control.” He was also advised to go public with his problem, but he feared that doing so might be seen as a sign of weakness.

Ed previously revealed that he went to speech therapy every week for three years until he was able to overcome the “blockage”.

He said: “I had speech therapy every week for three years. I was put in touch with a speech therapist named Jan Logan from City Lit who said it was a stutter.

“I argued with her for six months about whether it was a stutter or not because I didn’t really believe it.”

Ed then met former Monty Python star Michael Palin, who is working to raise awareness that stuttering is a serious problem. In 2011 he visited Palin’s Center for Stammering Children in London.

There, a father whose child struggled with stuttering said Ed was a “coward” for not speaking out about his own problems. “Why don’t you give these children some hope and confidence that they can stop stuttering and become a cabinet minister?” he asked him.

Ed was “mortified” – and wrote an article for the Times in which he admitted to suffering from the disease.

However, the stutter returned when he responded to then-Chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement in 2012.

“Suddenly I had a really bad blockade and there was a storm of noise and ridicule from the Tories, with David Cameron leading the laughter,” he recalled.

The incident prompted him to speak on Radio 4’s Today program the next morning about his stutter and how it could affect his Commons performance.

“When I came out of the Today interview, my phone was bursting with messages saying, ‘That was great,'” he wrote.

“But then, as tears welled up in my eyes, I sat alone in a room for ten minutes thinking, “Why am I exposing myself like this?”

Last month Gareth became emotional as he spoke about growing up with a stammer on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.

A tearful Gareth, who came second to Will Young on Pop Idol in 2002, said: “Growing up was hard for me – I had a stutter at school.”

“School was easy… [I was] verbally, physically abused. “Guys just holding me and screaming things,” said Gareth, pausing occasionally to wipe tears from his eyes.

Candid: In 2016, Ed spoke openly for the first time about his “decade-long battle” with a stammer and how then-Prime Minister David Cameron’s taunts led him to go public with his condition (pictured in 2008)

In his book Speaking Out: Lessons in Life and Politics, he recalls how Mr Cameron led the ridicule from the front bench of the House of Commons – and nicknamed him “Blinky Balls” (George Osborne, left, and David Cameron, pictured in 2012).

He said: A year later, as schools secretary, he tried to read out a statement in the House of Commons – “but for seconds I couldn’t say anything” (pictured 2011)

“I think that’s why I’m here, to show myself that I’m stronger and hopefully I won’t break this time.”

Last week Gareth was crowned winner of the 2023 military series, beating his competitor, disgraced former health secretary Matt Hancock.

Speaking about how much it means to him to win a reality TV show, he said: “When I was a 17-year-old boy, I took part in a TV talent show.” I made it to the finals, but didn’t win.

“But 20 years later, I wanted to prove to myself that I was strong and could make it to the end and hopefully even win.”

He later described the victory and fame over two decades after losing to Will on the show as “cathartic.”

He said: “I finally thought I had actually won a TV talent show and didn’t come second this time.” It was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. “I’ve finally recovered from being the biggest loser in the UK in 2002.”

After Pop Idol, Gareth scored several big hits, including the million-selling cover of Unchained Melody and Stupid Mistake.

He has returned to television in recent years, including Dancing on Ice, The Big Reunion and most recently Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.

Gareth beat fellow recruits Mr Hancock, 45, and Danielle Lloyd, 39, after the other sixteen celebrities failed to make it to the final.

The Chief Instructor, Billy Billingham MBE QCB, and his team of Directing Staff (DS), Foxy (Jason Fox), Rudy Reyes and Chris Oliver, decided that Gareth was the only celebrity who had the mental and physical strength and resilience to to pass the course.

After his name was announced, Gareth became shocked and said: “Thank you very much, staff.” Wow. Thank you very much.’

Overcome: Gareth burst into tears as he successfully completed the Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins training course

Success: Chief instructor Billy Billingham decided Gareth was the only celebrity who had the mental and physical strength to complete the course (L-R) Matt Hancock, Gareth Gates, Danielle Lloyd