Man overcomes stammer to finally make wedding speech to wife years later
Tony Robinson, a 53-year-old truckie from the UK, has dealt with a stammer from the age of six. Believed to be brought on by the trauma of his parents’ divorce, the speech impediment dashed his dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian, and Tony settled for a job as a truck driver to avoid talking to people.
Now, after 47 years of struggling, he’s finally overcome his stammer after participating in a TV documentary putting six stammerers through an intensive four-day program.
To show just how much he’s improved, Tony appeared on ITV’s This Morning program, confronting his fears and finally delivering his wedding speech to wife Paula – live, in front of millions of viewers.
“I’m sorry I was unable to do this speech at [our] wedding,” he begins. “As you know I was scared and nervous.”
How beautiful is that? Social media erupted with joy after the segment went to air, with one Twitter user admitting they were “in floods of tears,” while another described it as “the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in 2018 so far”.
“Tony, you had me and my wife in tears watching you struggle but had us clapping and crying at the end,” one man wrote. “So proud of you and we don’t even know you ... keep up the good work, you are an inspiration to others.”
Tony and his family were absolutely overwhelmed by the response to his appearance on the show, with his daughter taking to Twitter to thank everyone for their kind words.
Image credit: ITV.