“I’m incredibly lucky,” Sam Thompson says, “to do a job that I adore.” While he started out in reality television, joining his sister Louise in Made in Chelsea, it was his victory inI’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2023 that cemented his popularity, leading him to become the multi-hyphenate presenter, podcast host, radio DJ and all-round lovable personality that he is today.
Yet while Sam’s labrador-like enthusiasm and enduring friendship with fellow podcaster Pete Wicks have won him many fans, he has also become known as an advocate for people diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). After years of suspecting that he was showing signs of the condition, it was diagnosed in the Channel 4 show Sam Thompson: Is This ADHD? in 2023.
Sam is incredibly close with his sister Louise, who has been supporting through her recent health struggles
Now he wants to inspire young children by sharing how to cope with the same diagnosis, and has written a new book full of tips and tricks. “It’s not all sunshine and rainbows,” says Sam, 33. “But I want to encourage young people to achieve amazing things and to live an incredible life. It’s not something to fear.” Here, he talks about his superpower, his family support and the unusual way he greeted the King...
Sam, tell us about your new book, You, Me and ADHD: A Positive Guide to Understanding Your Brilliant Brain
“I think the best way of describing it is that it’s the book I wish I’d had when I was a kid. It’s also the book I kind of wish my parents had read. It is a manual for somebody struggling to understand themselves, with tips and tricks that would have really helped my schooling.”
Why do you say that having ADHD is your superpower?
“I’ve always said – and this is quite contentious – there is a superpower element to what I have. I’m incredibly lucky. I do a job I adore that allows me to harness my ADHD in a way that can really benefit me. For younger people, there’s loads of ways you can harness that: you can deep-dive and hyperfocus on things you really enjoy.
“We hear so many negatives about ADHD, a lot of which is completely understandable. It is not an easy thing to have, but I don’t want to tell a kid it’s going to be a tough life.”
You say lots of people suspected you had ADHD for years before you were given a diagnosis at 30. Why did you want to explore that?
“As I got older, I started thinking about my life and the most important thing for me was that I wanted to be a parent. I want to be a good dad and I worry that’s going to hinder it. I was thinking: ‘Am I going to be able to understand what I need to focus on and always be present and not be looking away from them?’ It really scared me.
“Then I did Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins [in 2019] and there was a woman who told me she had ADHD and how her diagnosis had changed her life. It really stuck with me.”
What has the response been like from the public?
“It’s probably the thing that people come up to me the most about. I had a very small part in Inside Out 2 and I went to the premiere. I had a mum come up to me with her daughter saying she wanted to give me a hug because, by me talking about it, she felt like she wasn’t alone. It made me cry.”
You are involved with various charities including The King’s Trust. Tell us how that started…
“I got the opportunity to speak to some winners and met a really lovely guy called Tyler. After that, I offered to do anything to work with them, so now I go into loads of schools to talk about the organisation. I think these kids are so intelligent and articulate and it makes me feel like I actually have something to give.”
Through your work with the organisation, you met the King. How was that?
“I called him ‘mate’! I had done a double record of my podcast with Pete Wicks and I was still in that mode. I was late, running up the stairs and I was sweating... the King is meeting my guy Tyler and I literally got there just in time. He comes over and I say, ‘Hi mate!’ So I think: ‘Oh my God.’ And then I said, ‘Sorry sir!,’ followed by, ‘You’re not even a sir.’ I then called him Your Majesty and he was so lovely. He laughed about it, which was really nice.”
How has your family, including your sister Louise Thompson, supported you?
“My sister’s been like my rock for years and years. I can be myself fully around her. She’s seen me at my lowest as well as my highest. She’s been super passionate about my neurodiverse journey and I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Your popularity exploded after you won I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. Can you believe how far you have come since then?
“It’s been the most amazing journey. I went in like a fan and made some amazing friends from it. I feel like I’ve been able to be myself and not mask anything and just go on a run of things. I’m so fortunate to do my radio show, my podcast with Pete and now I have the ability to do a book like this.
“Although I have ITV and the jungle to thank massively, the story is not over yet. I have the ability to do so much more.”
You, Me & ADHD: A Positive Guide to Understanding Your Brilliant Brain by Sam Thompson is out now, published by Puffin, priced £9.99
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