I can’t say I’ve ever thought that I had much in common with Ant McPartlin. In fact, I can’t say I’ve thought very much about the English TV celeb at all – until his shocking fall from grace, via a car crash, drunk-driving conviction and spell in rehab.
But it turns out that we are united by one thing, having both been diagnosed, as adults, with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
“I’ve got ADHD. I don’t mind talking about that,” he said in an interview last weekend, adding: “I never knew that until afterwards. I was so thoroughly examined and diagnosed, I found stuff out about me I hadn’t addressed for years.”
He is a long way from being alone. According to the charity ADHD Action, about 1.5 million adults in the UK have the condition, but only 120,000 are formally diagnosed. It is estimated that ADHD affects 5% of children and 3% of adults, making it the most common behavioural disorder in the country.
Even writing that last sentence is odd for me because, until two years ago, I would never have said I’d be affected by something like this. Indeed, I still think, perhaps wishfully, that none of my family, friends or colleagues could believe that I have a behavioural condition...