Great British Bake Off host Paul Hollywood hints he may have spent most of his adult years with an unrecognised battle against dyslexia.
Speaking to The Times, the 58 year old celebrity baker reflected on his academic struggles and how they contradict his current passion for learning as he trains to become a pilot.
When questioned about the prospect of undiagnosed dyslexia, Hollywood admitted: “I might have done. My English is terrible, actually. I can’t write it, I can’t get my head around it.”
He cited a ‘spiritual’ sensation for his interest in flying, saying: “It’s ethereal. It’s quite a spiritual place, weirdly. Well, not weirdly, because you’d expect that up in the sky, when you are dancing with the clouds.”
A formal diagnosis would make Hollywood one of several prominent figures who have spoken about their experiences with dyslexia. TV presenter Matt Baker, another advocate for the neurodiverse community, has been open about his own dyslexia affecting his day-to-day life, which he discussed in a 2022 interview with The Yorkshire Post.
Countryfile star Matt Baker has spoken candidly about living with dyslexia
(Image: (Image: BBC))
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The former One Show host opened up about his struggles with reading, confessing: “Reading was always an issue and even now, reading aloud is a nightmare. No matter how hard I try, I can’t read aloud. The scariest thing someone can do to me is hand me an email on live television and ask me to read it out. It does something to me. It’s absolutely petrifying,” reports Surrey Live.
He also shared with Woman’s Weekly that dyslexia runs in his family, affecting both his son and father.
Offering encouragement to others facing similar challenges, he advised: “The fundamentals of learning are the hardest things for us, and we will never be able to do them. That’s the lesson you learn, to just keep trying and never stop. And then when you apply that to the rest of life, you’re not put off by disappointment.”
He added: “Failure weirdly doesn’t register with you. It’s funny, because when you ask what’s the biggest mistake I’ve made, I actually don’t notice them. They’re just part of the learning. My dad’s dyslexic, my son’s dyslexic. And it’s just not an issue for us.”