Ed Balls compares his stutter to Lewis Capaldi's Tourette’s Syndrome as he praises the Someone You Loved singer

Ed Balls offered support to Lewis on Good Morning Britain

Former politician Ed Balls offered his support to Lewis Capaldi in an appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. The support came following Lewis’ Glastonbury performance in which he was unable to continue his set due to issues with his voice, which was brought on by his Tourette’s syndrome, leaving the crowd to finish the set for him. 

Ed said: "It’s so important to say because there was some reporting saying, 'The crowd did brilliantly while Lewis Capaldi struggled', but the truth was, it’s just part of who he is. He did it, he came through it, and the crowd loved him for it."

Jack Grealish praised Lewis Capaldi for his candout when performing at Glastonbury (Image: Getty Images)

He then went on to say how his personal experience with a stammer and his work with children who have the condition helped him to understand Lewis’ Tourette’s better. He said: "I know with the work I’ve done with the children with stammering, the idea that it’s something you should try and hide or conceal or worry about actually makes it worse, so you just have to say, Lewis has this, and he deals with it."

Ed also discussed his experience with his stammer, which he didn’t know he had until he was already an elected MP. He said: "I spent two or three years trying to find out what it was and trying to work out how to handle the fact that sometimes my speeches dried up in TV interviews and in the House of Commons. It got worse when I became a Cabinet minister. We went off to investigate and was told it was an interiorised stammer."

He added: "The reality is that lots of things I’ve done since, like Strictly, have been much easier to do after dealing with a stammer. It’s given me the confidence to do many difficult and fabulous things since. If I was choosing again, I’d choose a stammer."

Following his Glastonbury appearance, Lewis announced that he would be cancelling his tour to prioritise his mental health. This came after Lewis took a three-week long break from performing leading up to Glastonbury in the hopes of being at his best for the festival. He has yet to announce when, or if, he will begin performing again.