She was critical of the co-host Gregg Wallace, who she said told her the show would “do a lot for you”, but actually it made her “decide to end my television career once and for all. The star has penned a deal which will touch upon “fame, motherhood, self-medicating and trauma to her breakdown and breakthrough to become a campaigner and autism advocate”. It’s good to remind ourselves that autism isn’t a fixed object – it does morph over time,” she added.

There are neurodivergent people and there are neurotypical people, and people who are neurodivergent or autistic, ADHD, there's a whole umbrella of different conditions that go with it.Funny, furious and gloriously frank, this is a book that lifts the lid on being a woman in the media, the mother of autistic children, and a neurodivergent person speaking up in a neurotypical world. It crowbars you into a certain way of thinking and being, and if you don’t fit the bill you get left behind. Actor Noel Clarke says he is 'satisfied' after judge rules allegations of sexual misconduct against 20 women. Autistic people may have difficulty reading other people’s emotions or intentions, which can make socialising difficult to navigate. Her autism diagnosis in midlife has supercharged that journey – and means this isn’t a story just of breakdown, but of breakthrough.

Victoria Coren Mitchell, 51, reveals she's given birth to her second child with her comedian husband David,.Not because I don’t want to be who I am, it’s that I wish I’d known sooner so I could have understood exactly why things were rolling the way they were rolling. I also found it so much easier to socialise with other autistic people, with whom there is no language barrier. However, Russell said that the broadening of the criteria might mean that a diagnosis was “not that useful” for recommending a clinical pathway because the group is now so diverse. After a career that began in modelling and quickly moved to TV and radio, where she became one of the nation’s best loved presenters and interviewers, Melanie moved her focus to her campaigning work after her own diagnosis of Autism and ADHD. Melanie also told The Mirror that her book will touch on 'fame, motherhood, self-medicating and trauma,' as well as coming back from a 'huge breakdown' in the wake of her autism diagnosis.