Our Patrons

STAMMA is supported by our valued Patrons. 

Our Patrons have each been impacted uniquely by their stammer. They each consider it in a different way and we are keen to share their experiences, views and insights. They are, in alphabetical order:

Ed Balls 

Ed is a broadcaster and former MP. And star of Strictly Come Dancing, of course. After discovering he stammered later in life, Ed is now one of the main presenters on Good Morning Britain, where he has talked about his experiences of stammering on numerous occasions.

Kelly Brown

Kelly is a former Scotland International Rugby Captain. Watch him talking about his stammer in an interview he did with Rugby Pass: Life in rugby with a stammer. Kelly also features in a BBC Sport article: 'How two elite sportsmen learned to live with a stammer'.

Rodney Earl Clarke

Rodney is a professional opera singer and vocal coach. He has performed in many productions including Les Misérables in the West End and he was the first winner of the Richard Lewis/Jean Shanks Award in 2001.

James Davies 

James is an osteopath who has treated top celebrities including David Beckham, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Kylie Minogue, and has written a book called 'Body'. Read all about James and watch his interview with us.

Dame Margaret Drabble DBE

Margaret is a celebrated author. Watch Margaret talking about stammering and the power of words in this discussion with author David Mitchell.

David Mitchell

David is an acclaimed author. Watch him talking about stammering and the power of words in this discussion with author Margaret Drabble. His title 'Black Swan Green' is a semi-biographical novel about a boy who stammers David also made a keynote speech to the World Congress for People who Stutter in 2013, titled '13 Ways to Look at a Stammer'. You can watch David's speech on YouTube. Or you can read a transcript of the speech from the Dutch Stuttering Association.

Scroobius Pip

Pip is an actor, podcaster, spoken word artist and musician. Listen to a special edition of his podcast 'Distraction Pieces', where he talks with three people who stammer.

Arwel Richards

Arwel is a businessman and broadcaster. Watch his short video 'Stammering doesn't have to hold you back'.

Owen Sheers

Owen is a novelist, poet, playwright and presenter. Read more about Owen and watch our interview with him.

Jon Smith OBE

Jon is an agent with a high profile in the sports and entertainment arenas, and in his biography 'The Deal', he talks about his stammer and how he developed public speaking skills for his continuous media work.

Hannah Tovey

Hannah is an author, whose debut novel The Education of Ivy Edwards was an Amazon number 1 bestseller. Read more about Hannah.

Baroness Janet Whitaker

Read our interview with the politician, Baroness Janet Whitaker, in which she talks about coping with her stammer in Parliament.

Former patrons

Our former Patrons include:

Jonathan Miller CBE (1934-2019)

Jonathan Miller, Writer, presenter, humourist and medical doctor, sadly passed away in November 2019. Read our Tribute to Jonathan Miller, which includes a transcription of his Parkinson interview where he talked about his stammer.

Nicholas Parsons CBE (1923-2020)

One of our longest-standing patrons, legendary entertainer Nicholas Parsons died in January 2020. Read what he did for the charity in our Tribute to Nicholas Parsons.