James Martin: British chef posts unusual video showing dyslexia doesnt hold him back

James Martin teases fans with news of a fresh project

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“Hello, guys,” he beamed, as he addressed over 706,000 followers on Twitter. “This is quite unusual for me to post a video, as you know. I’m just letting you know about my new project, in fact, a new book that’s out. “It’s something that’s been long awaited,” he continued. “It’s something I’ve been working on throughout Covid land.” The publicly untitled book has been “over two years in the making”, and will launch in October.

“I can’t actually tell you the title yet, which is crazy – it’s top secret,” James teased.

Shot in a scenic background – full of greenery, with purple, red, and yellow flowers – James gave us a little clue of what is to come.

Placing a yellow flower under his chin at the end of his message, the TV chef could be hinting that his new book has something to do with butter.

Such a theory is based on the distinctive glossiness of the buttercup flower, which children tend to put under each other’s chins to see if they like butter.

Widening his eyes, James walks off, leaving his fans guessing and wanting more.

“Launching in October, only 63 more sleeps to wait – I don’t want to wait that long for the butter book!” said one fan.

James’s latest achievement is more evidence that he hasn’t let his learning disability hold him back.

Diagnosed with dyslexia as a 30-year-old, James could piece together why he had found it so difficult to read off an autocue when he first hosted TV programmes.

Dyslexia in adults

“Everyone’s experience of dyslexia will be individual to them but there are common indicators,” said the British Dyslexia Association.

Do you:

  • Confuse visually similar words such as cat and cot
  • Spell erratically
  • Find it hard to scan or skim text
  • Read/write slowly
  • Need to re-read paragraphs to understand them
  • Find it hard to listen and maintain focus
  • Find it hard to concentrate if there are distractions
  • Feel sensations of mental overload/switching off
  • Have difficulty telling left from right
  • Get confused when given several instructions at once
  • Have difficulty organising thoughts on paper
  • Often forget conversations or important dates
  • Have difficulty with personal organisation, time management and prioritising tasks
  • Avoid certain types of work or study
  • Find some tasks really easy but unexpectedly challenged by others
  • Have poor self-esteem, especially if dyslexic difficulties have not been identified in earlier life?

The charity provides an adult dyslexia checklist that you can work on in your own time.

While this isn’t to be considered “a diagnostic tool”, it can show if there’s a case for further testing.

“Dyslexia can only be formally identified through a Diagnostic Assessment carried out by a certified assessor,” the charity explained.

This service isn’t available for free on the NHS, but there are benefits to getting tested.

For instance, if you’re found to have dyslexia, then your workplace or place of education have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate for your difficulties.

This is because a formal dyslexia diagnosis is covered by the Equality Act 2010.

A person’s experience of dyslexia can range from mild to severe, and it can co-occur with other learning difficulties.

Described as a “neurological difference”, the charity pointed out: “There are positives to thinking differently.

“Many dyslexic people show strengths in areas such as reasoning and in visual and creative fields.”

ITV’s James Martin’s Saturday Kitchen continues on Saturday, July 31 at 9:25am.

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