Good Morning Britain's Ed Balls breaks down in tears as he brands Gareth Gates inspiration in own battle

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Ed Balls broke down in tears on Good Morning Britain as he praised Gareth Gates for being his inspiration. The singer and actor appeared on the ITV news programme on Wednesday (November 15) to chat to Ed and co-host Susanna Reid.

He was on to chat about his stellar performance in SAS: Who Dares Wins which he won after making it to the end alongside former MP Matt Hancock and model and TV personality Danielle Lloyd.

But the conversation soon turned to Gareth's stammer as he was joined in the studio by a speech therapist. The Pop Idol winner, who found fame on the talent show in 2002, has always been open about his struggles with his speech and former Labour MP Ed shared how Gareth helped him start talking about his own stammer struggle. READ MORE: Gemma Atkinson's cheeky quip about Strictly Come Dancing's Blackpool week as she undergoes treatment before trip READ MORE: Read more of today's top stories from the Manchester Evening News As the continued to talk about Gareth's upcoming work in panto, Susanna told the 39-year-old: "You will be a role model to people watching," before Ed reiterated: "You inspired me, you really did," adding: "I thought, 'If Gareth Gates can do this, I can too and if he can be public, I can be public too.'"And it was really hard but I did it because you showed me how to do it." "Thank you, thank you for saying that," a touched Gareth replied before confessing: "It means a lot." Susanna interjected: "I feel privileged just to be here in between you both," before Ed was seen fighting back tears.

Noticing Ed's emotional reaction, Susanna placed a comforting arm on his shoulder as Gareth commented: "Bless you, mate." Susanna then asked as Ed struggled through his tears: "Can you have a hug?" as