ITV Chris Kamara: Lost for Words - how to watch documentary about Kammy’s rare apraxia condition

Chris Kamara opens up about his speech of apraxia condition in new ITV documentary

Chris Kamara opens up about his apraxia of speech condition on new ITV documentary Chris Kamara: Lost for Words tonight. The one-off show follows the former Sky Sports pundit and Ninja Warrior UK host on his deeply personal journey as he talks to experts and learns more about the rare condition.

Kammy stepped back from work commitments including Sky Sports earlier this year after viewers became concerned with his slurred speech. It ended 24 years at the company where he first said the memorable catchphrase "unbelievable Jeff".

Speaking about making the ITV show, Chris Kamara said: “This documentary is a very personal one for me. I am really keen to raise awareness about Apraxia of Speech/Dyspraxia.

“Little is known about it which makes the diagnosis so much harder to navigate. Hopefully by sharing my story it will raise awareness and also help people who may also be living with this condition by showing them that there are ways to manage it and to still live a fulfilling life.”

Here’s everything you need to know about the ITV documentary and how the former midfielder is battling apraxia.

How to watch Chris Kamara: Lost for Words

Chris Kamara: Lost for Words will be premiering on ITV1 tonight at 9:15pm. If you miss the one-hour episode, you can catch up on ITVX.

What is Apraxia of speech and its symptoms?

Apraxia of speech (AOS) is a speech sound disorder that can affect its victims in a variety of ways. The neurological condition affects brain pathways involved in planning the sequence of movements that lead to speech.

People with AOS may slur or have trouble saying what they want to say. The brain is unable to provide the necessary movements required for speech production.

In this ITV documentary Chris Kamara meets a range of specialists to find out more about his rare condition

There are two main types of AOS, which are as follows:

• Acquired AOS: Affect someone at any age, typically occurs in adults. It causes damage to the parts of the brain involved in speaking and leads to loss or impairment of speech abilities. 
• Childhood AOS: Present from birth, it is also known as developmental apraxia of speech, developmental verbal apraxia or articulatory apraxia. Studies and recent research finds that genetic factors are an influence and it affects more boys than girls.

AOS does not cause weakness in the muscles needed to produce speech but it does make coordinating them very difficult.

On his experience with the condition, Kamara said: "My boys had been saying to my wife ‘there’s something wrong with dad’ for a while, and she’d broach it with me and I’d be quite snappy, which I’m not anyway, and say I’m fine. It’s harder for people close to you, I think.

"I’d say [to my boys] I’ve just had a bad day, don’t worry, I’ll be fine, but they know. You can’t pull the wool over their eyes for too long."