Sykes says being diagnosed as autistic at 51 has helped explain struggles during broadcasting career
Sykes at the 2020 National Television Awards. The presenter said she had ‘always struggled with earpieces’. Photograph: David M Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images
The TV presenter Melanie Sykes has announced she has been diagnosed as autistic at the age of 51.
In an email to readers of her magazine the Frank, Sykes opened up about the “life-changing” diagnosis and her relief that things in her life had finally started to “make sense”.
“This week has been truly life-changing, or rather, life-affirming,” she wrote in the email, originally obtained by the Sun. “As many of you may or may not know, I was diagnosed with autism late Thursday afternoon. And then, finally, so many things made sense.”
She said her diagnosis had come as a huge relief and was one she would be celebrating. “I now have a deeper understanding of myself, my life, and the things I have endured.”