Sky Sports legend Chris Kamara gives heartbreaking health update and explains he cannot walk down stairs without help

Sky Sports presenter Chris Kamara gave an update on his devastating health battle, revealing that he is no longer able to walk down the stairs without assistance.

The former footballer, best known as a football commentator on Sky Sports and as the presenter of Ninja Warrior UK, announced in 2022 that he had been diagnosed with apraxia of speech – a motor disorder that causes sufferers to lose the ability to perform certain movements and gestures, including speaking.

Chris, 66, had previously been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid, which he thought was the cause of his speech problems, before seeing a brain specialist and learning he was suffering from apraxia. The broadcaster has now given an update on his condition two years after publicly announcing his apraxia, revealing that while he is “on the mend” he still struggles to walk down stairs.

Talk to buddy Ben Shephard and his co-host Cat Deeley on This Morning on Monday 8 July, Chris spoke to Ben about his condition, saying: “You suffer from a condition called apraxia. It’s a neurological condition where the nerve pathways are interrupted, so your speech but also your balance and speech are affected.”

Chris replied: “It’s also dyspraxia, so now I find it hard to go down the stairs without holding on to the handle or other things, but that’s OK. I’m quite happy with it. I can cope with it and there’s always someone worse off than you, so it’s OK.

“I’m on the mend. I’ve stopped feeling sorry for myself, which was the case in the beginning, but now I’m on the mend.”

Chris has spoken about his diagnosis before, breaking down on Good Morning Britain last year after admitting he was “ashamed” of his illness. “The (words) come out very slowly so I thought that defined me. So I apologise to anyone who has a speech impediment because it doesn’t define who you are,” he said.

“It makes me angry to talk about it because I was in denial. I was ashamed that I couldn’t speak,” he added, to which presenter Susanna Reid replied: “Honestly, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You have done so much to inspire other people.”

He added that speaking about his condition in his ITV documentary Chris Kamara: Lost for Words helped him – particularly because he had the support of his Ninja Warrior UK co-host Ben Shephard. “Ben stood behind me when I came out and did the documentary and talked about it,” he said.

“And after talking about it, you can get it off your chest and realize that everyone has your back. Family and friends always have your back, no matter what.”

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.