Chris Kamara has opened up about how ‘concerned’ he was to film a documentary about his apraxia diagnosis, but felt comforted by his close friend Ben Shephard convincing him to make the film.
In March this year, the beloved football pundit – known for his frequently-used phrase: ‘Unbelievable Jeff!’ when speaking to his colleague Jeff Stelling – shared that he had been diagnosed with apraxia of speech.
When an individual has apraxia, they may find they have difficulty carrying out planned movements, while apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder that can affect a person’s fluency of speech.
This week, Chris, 64 – who’s known affectionately as ‘Kammy’ – is releasing a new ITV documentary called Chris Kamara: Lost For Words, which will delve into his exploration into various treatments in the hope of recovery.
The film was made by Triple Brew Media, the company owned by Chris’ close friend Ben Shephard, who also appears on the programme, working alongside Kammy to record voiceovers for ITV’s Ninja Warrior.
On Tuesday, Ben, 48, explained to This Morning co-hosts Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond that Chris was ‘naturally very concerned’ about doing a documentary, because he didn’t want to ‘feel the victim’ or as though anyone felt ‘sorry for him’.
Chris outlined how his agent Simon Dent was ‘approached by three or four production companies saying can we do a documentary on your apraxia of speech, and I said no’.
‘And then Ben said look, why not? Come out and talk. And I said look, I don’t want to be the victim. He said yeah, but I’d like to raise awareness,’ the sports presenter recalled.
‘So he said yeah, I’ll help you raise awareness, but also it is about you, so we’re going to have to show a lot about you.’
Ben emphasised the difference it made in the fact that Chris ‘trusted’ his production company to make the film sensitively, stating: ‘He felt he could trust us. It’s been incredible.’
The Good Morning Britain presenter added that ‘Kammy was really concerned about how he was going to be received’ by viewers.
However, in Ben’s experience, going out with Chris is ‘like going out with Justin Bieber’, he remarked, as so many people ask him about how Kammy’s doing.
‘He is a national treasure. Going out with Kammy is like going out with Justin Bieber, it’s a nightmare,’ he said.
‘You can’t go anywhere without people stopping him for photographs or pictures, they all just want to say it, and that’s been really lovely for him to see that warmth and spirit.’
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV. Chris Kamara: Lost For Words airs on Wednesday December 14 at 9pm on ITV.
