Chris Kamara set to sing on live TV show amid brave battle with speech apraxia

01 December 2023 , 21:21

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Chris Kamara is out to prove his apraxia won't hold him back (Image: Richard Sellers/Getty Images)

Football legend Chris Kamara is set to sing on TV as part of ITV show Britain Get Singing.

The programme pits five groups of celebrities against each other as they perform classic songs and Kamara will be competing on behalf of The Masked Singer. Kamara was a contestant on the show earlier this year and will be joined by Russell Watson and Aled Jones as they compete against other groups from Good Morning Britain, Love Island, Coronation Street and EastEnders.

The 65-year-old revealed last year that he had been diagnosed with apraxia, a rare neurological condition that affects speech, balance, dexterity and strength. The condition ultimately led to his decision to leave Sky Sports after 24 years, having been a much-loved figure on Soccer Saturday.

"Kammy gets nervous about doing TV as he still has problems with his speech, but he wanted to do this," a show insider told the Daily Star. "It's a chance for him to show that he's not letting his situation hold him back. It's a chance for him to inspire others."

Kamara has opened up about his battle with apraxia in his new book 'Kammy: My Unbelievable Life', which has been serialised by the Mirror, with the former Portsmouth and Swindon midfielder bravely detailing his struggles.

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" I'm a man who has always wanted to help, to provide, to love and nurture those around me," he wrote. "And now I could only see myself as a burden. A shell of the man I used to be that they would be left to look after.

"Seeing myself like that was like staring into an abyss. I could never reconcile that image in my head. It was unthinkable. And it's at that point I'd think, 'They'd be better off without me.' I thought of Gary Speed and then I thought of my own position – a man in his mid-sixties, whose best days, because of a brain condition, were gone, struggling on while becoming a weight on all around him.

Kamara was diagnosed with apraxia, a neurological condition which affects his speech and balance, back in 2021 (Richard Sellers/Getty Images)

"Whose wife and children would be left to deal with whatever I became. I didn't want that for Anne and the boys. So how do you prevent it from happening? You take yourself out of the picture.

"There were times when I definitely thought that was a way out. If you're stuck in a maze, with no sign of an escape route, eventually you'll try something extreme. Especially if you have chosen to wander that maze alone.

"And that really is the key. When finally I did start to share my problems, I began to see that the future might not be so bleak. That a world could exist with me in it. Hopefully a me who was better, but nevertheless a version of me who I could live with."

Matthew Cooper