When Jay Blades looks at words on a page, the letters swim around in front of his eyes. “Imagine a load of ants moving around, that’s the easiest way to explain it”, says the TV presenter.
He didn’t realise he was dyslexic until he was 31, and was relieved when he found out. “You think you’re dumb because that’s what you’re told. Then someone explains you just have a different way of learning – it was a relief.” As a result of his undiagnosed dyslexia, Blades left school unable to read or write properly, and has never read a novel or newspaper.
In the sixth decade of his life, he is finally learning to read with the help of the charity Read Easy and has made a documentary that charts his progress – Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51. “I think a lot of people [who struggle to read] are embarrassed. I hope it will inspire other people to give it a go.”
For decades, he hid his poor literacy skills from employers, workmates, friends and even girlfriends. When handed a form, he would pretend to have forgotten his glasses and get someone else to fill it in. Once…
