Kaz
23-02-2003, 12:30 PM
POP Idol Gareth Gates has wept tears of rage and frustration as his stammer gets WORSE, The People can reveal.
The 18-year-old heart-throb's cruel disability is now so bad that he...
TOOK FIVE MINUTES to answer one simple question in a TV interview.
IS TERRIFIED of being asked anything in public.
FEARS his career will be wrecked by his inability to promote his records - so vital in the high-pressure pop business.
IS FORCED to pre-record every word he says on stage at concerts apart from his songs.
HAS turned in desperation to almost daily sessions with a speech therapist.
Gareth's personal turmoil hasn't been helped by his failure to win an award at the Brits, unlike his smooth-talking Pop Idol rival Will Young.
Last night a worried pal of the tongue-tied star told The People: "Nobody should underestimate how serious this is. Gareth is in an awful state and it is eating him up. At times he is struck dumb.
"As Britain's brightest young star with the world at his feet he should be enjoying every moment of his life. Instead he is enduring a living hell because of his terrible stutter."
Viewers who saw Gareth being interviewed after coming second to Will Young on the TV talent show last year thought he had largely overcome his chronic stammer. But it has got markedly worse since his success with his No1 hit Unchained Melody.
The pal revealed: "Gareth will slam his hand down on the table when the words fail to come. When confronted with an interview or anybody he doesn't know well he is simply struck dumb.
"In a recent interview being recorded for TV Gareth struggled for five minutes to answer one simple question. He was quivering with frustration and boiling up with rage. In the end, his publicist begged the interviewer and cameraman to leave the room, while his speech therapist Helen Vyner asked the questions with the camera still running. They allowed it but Gareth knows it can't keep happening and he will be impossible to promote if he can't do interviews."
ITV viewers yesterday saw an example of Gareth's private agony when he was chief guest on the kids' show SMTV Live followed by CD:UK. During the three-hour slot he uttered only 15 words, stumbled over one of them and did not complete a single sentence. The show would have been an ideal chance for Gareth to say something about his new Comic Relief single Spirit In The Sky. But the star could manage only a nervous smile in front of hordes of adoring girl fans.
Now Gareth has returned to speech therapist Helen Vyner and has signed up for ANOTHER course of intensive treatment called the McGuire Programme which involves breathing exercises and building confidence. Meanwhile, his record company, family and close pals are determined to stand by him.
A friend said: "The harder he tries to conquer his stammer the more difficult it seems to become. The pressure on young artists to give interviews to promote records is intense and that only serves to heighten Gareth's anxiety about his stammer. His record company stand by him 100 per cent and will give him every help. But of course they are concerned that he struggles with interviews, unlike Will Young who's a natural."
Nobody fully understands why stammering occurs. It affects almost one in 10 Britons. Gareth, from Bradford, West Yorks, has already been on one intensive four-day course under the McGuire Programme. McGuire's solution is for stammerers to alter their breathing pattern, using a different part of their diaphragm to breathe out during speech. Now Gareth is seeing McGuire expert Helen Vyner on almost a daily basis. Our source continued: "She spends a lot of time with him and if there are any high pressure situations she will accompany him for support. It is an awful situation for such a talented artist and his record company hope that he will overcome his problem soon. They are sensitive to Gareth's problem and have been patient. But they are also aware he is missing out on all sorts of promotional opportunities."
Tomorrow night BBC1 viewers will see a more relaxed Gareth taking driving lessons and his test. He wasn't as nervous while filming the Comic Relief version of Celebrity Driving School because cameras were hidden and he was in a one-to-one situation.
The source added: "It is just so different when more people are around. It is so sad and you feel for him."
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Now I know the tabloids can tend to 'over-exagerate' sometimes, but it does seem that Gareth is having serious problems. I didn't see SM:tv or CD:UK yesterday so can't comment on that. Did anyone else watch it?
However I did see all of the 'Will and Gareth on Tour' documentaries on The Saturday Show, and Gareth seemed to be speaking much better. Perhaps, as the article states, it was because most of this was filmed behind the scenes and he was more relaxed.
The 18-year-old heart-throb's cruel disability is now so bad that he...
TOOK FIVE MINUTES to answer one simple question in a TV interview.
IS TERRIFIED of being asked anything in public.
FEARS his career will be wrecked by his inability to promote his records - so vital in the high-pressure pop business.
IS FORCED to pre-record every word he says on stage at concerts apart from his songs.
HAS turned in desperation to almost daily sessions with a speech therapist.
Gareth's personal turmoil hasn't been helped by his failure to win an award at the Brits, unlike his smooth-talking Pop Idol rival Will Young.
Last night a worried pal of the tongue-tied star told The People: "Nobody should underestimate how serious this is. Gareth is in an awful state and it is eating him up. At times he is struck dumb.
"As Britain's brightest young star with the world at his feet he should be enjoying every moment of his life. Instead he is enduring a living hell because of his terrible stutter."
Viewers who saw Gareth being interviewed after coming second to Will Young on the TV talent show last year thought he had largely overcome his chronic stammer. But it has got markedly worse since his success with his No1 hit Unchained Melody.
The pal revealed: "Gareth will slam his hand down on the table when the words fail to come. When confronted with an interview or anybody he doesn't know well he is simply struck dumb.
"In a recent interview being recorded for TV Gareth struggled for five minutes to answer one simple question. He was quivering with frustration and boiling up with rage. In the end, his publicist begged the interviewer and cameraman to leave the room, while his speech therapist Helen Vyner asked the questions with the camera still running. They allowed it but Gareth knows it can't keep happening and he will be impossible to promote if he can't do interviews."
ITV viewers yesterday saw an example of Gareth's private agony when he was chief guest on the kids' show SMTV Live followed by CD:UK. During the three-hour slot he uttered only 15 words, stumbled over one of them and did not complete a single sentence. The show would have been an ideal chance for Gareth to say something about his new Comic Relief single Spirit In The Sky. But the star could manage only a nervous smile in front of hordes of adoring girl fans.
Now Gareth has returned to speech therapist Helen Vyner and has signed up for ANOTHER course of intensive treatment called the McGuire Programme which involves breathing exercises and building confidence. Meanwhile, his record company, family and close pals are determined to stand by him.
A friend said: "The harder he tries to conquer his stammer the more difficult it seems to become. The pressure on young artists to give interviews to promote records is intense and that only serves to heighten Gareth's anxiety about his stammer. His record company stand by him 100 per cent and will give him every help. But of course they are concerned that he struggles with interviews, unlike Will Young who's a natural."
Nobody fully understands why stammering occurs. It affects almost one in 10 Britons. Gareth, from Bradford, West Yorks, has already been on one intensive four-day course under the McGuire Programme. McGuire's solution is for stammerers to alter their breathing pattern, using a different part of their diaphragm to breathe out during speech. Now Gareth is seeing McGuire expert Helen Vyner on almost a daily basis. Our source continued: "She spends a lot of time with him and if there are any high pressure situations she will accompany him for support. It is an awful situation for such a talented artist and his record company hope that he will overcome his problem soon. They are sensitive to Gareth's problem and have been patient. But they are also aware he is missing out on all sorts of promotional opportunities."
Tomorrow night BBC1 viewers will see a more relaxed Gareth taking driving lessons and his test. He wasn't as nervous while filming the Comic Relief version of Celebrity Driving School because cameras were hidden and he was in a one-to-one situation.
The source added: "It is just so different when more people are around. It is so sad and you feel for him."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now I know the tabloids can tend to 'over-exagerate' sometimes, but it does seem that Gareth is having serious problems. I didn't see SM:tv or CD:UK yesterday so can't comment on that. Did anyone else watch it?
However I did see all of the 'Will and Gareth on Tour' documentaries on The Saturday Show, and Gareth seemed to be speaking much better. Perhaps, as the article states, it was because most of this was filmed behind the scenes and he was more relaxed.