‘Jessie is showing us it’s normal to stammer’

Spoiler alert: This article contains details of the ongoing series The Traitors.

There are plenty of surprises and turning points in the new series of The Traitors; Moreover, there is a secret traitor.

But while tactics and subterfuge dominate conversations about the show, it’s contestant Jessie Stride who gets the others talking.

The 28-year-old actor suffers from a stutter and said introducing himself in episode one was “one of the biggest challenges ever”.

It’s a familiar feeling for people like Hayley Rawlings, from Newport, who has stuttered since the age of four.

She said representation goes a long way, especially for young women who she feels are overlooked.

“I think people at home will watch it and think ‘oh, they’re not actually going to laugh or think I’m stupid’,” Hayley said.

Stuttering or stuttering, It is a type of speech disorder in which the flow of spoken words changes with repetitions or long sounds.

Stuttering affects 8 per cent of children and at least 1 per cent of adults, according to the charity STAMMA; Some people don’t declare it or don’t realize they have it.

Stuttering or stammering is also thought to affect men more than women.

The second week of the new series saw Jessie, a hairdresser from Hull, successfully identify Stephen as a traitor and lead him through the difficulties.

Hayley, 34, said the fact that Jessie was good at the game and her stutter was not the focus gave people “something to relate to”.

“It was really nice to see her say her name was the hardest thing, which is the case if you talk to 99% of people who stutter,” Hayley said, and she believes this may be because it’s not a word you can change.

Hayley said people’s reactions to Jessie showed how much progress had been made.

“It wasn’t a big deal,” he said.

“It was really nice to see that everyone there gave him time to talk and they were probably doing the right things without even realizing it.”

Hayley said people who stutter are often mocked or mistreated in the media, and are sometimes portrayed as stuttering as a result of trauma.

“I think this will teach people a lot about what happened. [stammering] “This is normal and this is normal,” he said.

“Also, as a woman who stutters, it’s great to see this because we are a minority within a minority.

“I’ve done a lot of work for charities in the past and it’s usually been older guys and, with all due respect, I didn’t engage with them.

“It’s nice to see a young woman and think people can relate to her.”

As for Jessie’s play, Hayley would like to see her under some pressure, adding that it would be “pretty interesting to see.”

“In the past I thought I was wondering what stuttering would be like [the show] because when people lie they naturally get stuck on the words they said,” said Hayley.

“I want him charged to see how they are [the other contestants] take it.”

Physiotherapy technical instructor Joe Dilling, from St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, has had a stammering problem since the age of six.

Now 26, he said it had been “quite a rollercoaster” and that he had also started a relationship with Jessie.

“The worst thing for most people is to introduce themselves.

“That’s probably one of the things that caused him the most anxiety,” he said.

“People who stutter are underrepresented on television and a lot of times if you see someone who stutters it’s the main focus, so it’s nice to see that no one cares about it and Jessie is just shown as a normal person.

“It’s nice to see that no one is causing any trouble because it’s not like that; sometimes it can take longer for him to talk.”

Joe hasn’t seen The Traitors before, but he’s getting ready to see Jessie.

“I think people who stutter are better at making choices [social cues] “up,” he said.

“Raising awareness is the most important thing because there are still a lot of people who don’t really understand it and sometimes you get weird situations.

“I think it’s nice to see someone represented, but that’s not the only thing about them.

“People have a perception that people who stutter are not talented, and that is certainly the case.”

Kirsten Howells, executive vice president of STAMMA, said: BBC Radio Wales Breakfast As Jessie emphasized in the first episode, it’s actually normal for many people who stutter to have trouble saying their own name.

“Having to say your name, zip code or account number, something you can’t say any other way, having to say it willingly for someone who stutters tends to give you a major stuttering moment.

“The general public isn’t really aware of this, so it’s great to have Jessie out there explaining it to an audience of millions,” he said.

“HE [Jessie] “We say this is normal for people who stutter, so let’s make room for it, let’s wait, let’s give people who stutter some time to talk.”

Traitors continues on January 14 at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.