Ed Sheeran admits childhood stutter made him feel different on CBeebies Bedtime Stories

Ed Sheeran has opened up on how he felt ‘different’ as a child because of his stutter while presenting CBeebies Bedtime Stories, expressing his hope to ‘inspire and support’ kids who can relate to his experience.

The singer is the latest in a string of celebrities to host the popular CBeebies Bedtime Stories, following on from famous faces including Loki star Tom Hiddleston, Free Guy actor Ryan Reynolds and Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page.

On Friday October 22 on International Stuttering Awareness Day, a clip was released of Ed’s upcoming episode, in which he speaks about how he struggled in school when he was younger as he was unable to articulate what he wanted to say.

‘Hello, my name is Ed. When I was little, I had a stutter. And that means when I spoke, sometimes the words got a bit stuck on the way out. And it made me feel different,’ he says in the clip.

‘Because you know, I’d be in school and the teacher would ask a question that I would know the answer to and I would put my hand in the air, and then when it came to my turn to answer, I couldn’t get the words out.’

The 30-year-old said that he ‘used to worry that I’d never be able to speak without stuttering’.

Ed hopes to inspire children who have stutters (Picture: PA/BBC)

He then added: ‘But now I sing, and I talk to people all the time, sometimes to LOTS of people. Perhaps you have a stutter too, or you know someone who does….’

For CBeebies Bedtime Stories, Ed is reading a book called I Talk Like A River by Jordan Scott and Sydney Smith, which tells the tale of a boy with a stutter ‘whose father helps him by explaining that the flow of his words is like a river’.

Ed explained the significance of reading the book for him personally, highlighting how much it also means to him as a father.

In 2020, the musician welcomed a baby girl with his wife Cherry Seaborn, who they named Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran.

More: Ed Sheeran

‘Growing up, I had a stutter like the boy in I Talk Like A River, so I’m delighted to be reading this story for CBeebies Bedtime Stories, especially as I’m a new dad myself. I hope the story helps inspire and support other children who stutter,’ he said.

In 2015, Ed opened up about how rapping along to songs by Eminem helped him overcome his stutter.

CBeebies airs weekdays at 6.50pm on the CBeebies channel, with Ed Sheeran’s episode airing on November 5.

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