Blog: Gareth Gates on Steph's Packed Lunch

In our first blog post, staff members Kirsten, Steven and George talk about the reaction to Gareth Gates's appearance on Channel 4's Steph's Packed Lunch this week.

This Tuesday, it was fantastic to see Gareth Gates on our screens again. He appeared on Channel 4's lunchtime show Steph's Packed Lunch, cooking and chatting about his career. Stammering was not the topic of the segment, but Gareth chose to appear on screen supported by a coach from the McGuire Programme, a stammering course for adults. Occasionally the coach prompted Gareth to use a technique for his speech.  

Since it was aired, we've had quite a few emails from parents and from people who stammer. Some have asked if the technique is part of regular stammering therapy. Others are concerned that such prompts for use of techniques are disrespectful and devalue what someone is saying and instead place focus on how it is said. We've also been contacted by NHS Speech & Language Therapy departments concerned that the segment misrepresents the sort of support people who stammer can gain from working with a Speech & Language Therapist.

The technique Gareth was using, called costal breathing, is part of the course taught by The McGuire Programme and others including The Starfish Project. It's not technically 'speech therapy' in that these approaches aren't run by qualified Speech & Language Therapists. Trained Speech & Language Therapists on the NHS, for instance, tend to use different approaches. The confusion arose after the coach was mistakenly introduced as a 'speech therapist' (a term which is reserved for Speech & Language Therapists who have undergone broad training and are registered with the UK's Health and Care Professions Council). There's a broad range of therapies and approaches available for stammering, as different approaches suit different people. See One-to-one Adult Speech & Language Therapy and Adult Group Stammering Courses.

Gareth's coach at times asked him to try saying various words again. This prompted concerns about the segment giving viewers the message that stammering is 'bad' and something to be 'corrected'. This follows in the wake of the growing 'stammering pride' movement based on the social model of disability. The movement argues that stammering is the way some of us talk and, rather than being something we need to be ashamed of or hide, is something that society needs to accommodate and make space for (read our article 'A day exploring Stammering Pride' to find out more). We're certainly in favour of that and the movement informs our current campaign 'No Diversity Without Disfluency', calling for people who stammer to be included on TV, film and radio.  

However, here at STAMMA, we're a broad church and hold that people should deal with stammering the way they want to. Our staff team, trustee board and volunteer teams are made up of people who stammer — some use speech techniques and some don't, some swear by mindfulness, others by CBT, and some stammer openly and with pride. Gareth chooses to deal with his stammer in the way that works for him, and we celebrate both his right to do that and the support he draws from others.

If we are to have full representation of stammering on TV and film, then we should show the full range of approaches people who stammer take — some love to stammer openly, others choose to use a technique, whilst some are more covert about their disfluency. Steph's Packed Lunch have been great at reflecting this range — in 2020 they featured Sam, an aspiring actor, then 10 years old, who caused a splash when reading his poem online, in an interview where he proudly told the world that it's okay to stammer.  

Let's see more people like Sam and Gareth on our TVs. You can help achieve this by signing and sharing our change.org petition for better stammering representation on and off screen.

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