STAR OF Mr Bean and Blackadder, Rowan Atkinson is one of the most recognisable actors and comedians in Britain. But what some may not know is that as a child the star suffered badly with a speech impediment, which he was luckily able to cure through acting.

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With another of Atkinson’s successful film franchises – Johnny English – being shown on ITV2 tonight (Sunday, April 3), it makes his transformation from a “shy [boy] with a slight stutter and a slightly rubbery face just like the one he has now,” to a BAFTA winning actor all the more impressive. A stutter, also called stammering, is a speech disorder that can cause frequent and significant problems with normal fluency and flow of speech. The Mayo Clinic explains that individuals who stutter most likely know what they want to say, but have difficulty in saying it.

When asked if he still lives with the affliction back in a 2007 interview, Atkinson replied: “It comes and goes.

“I find when I play a character other than myself, the stammering disappears. That may have been some of the inspiration for pursuing the career I did.”

Also suspecting that acting helped him overcome his speech impairment was Canon John Groves, who taught at the school that Atkinson attended as a child. Writing in the actor’s 1999 biography, he said: “In class he was very middle of the road.

“There was nothing outstanding about him. I didn’t expect him to become a fantastic scientist. And he was a quiet lad who walked his own path.

Rowan Atkinson: The star suffered with a stammer as a child (Image: Getty)

“But when he walked on-stage he was exceptional.”

Stuttering is common among young children as they learn how to speak, but most children outgrow this as they develop. However, for some this stutter persists into adulthood and can impact not only a person’s interactions with other people but their self-esteem.

Symptoms or signs of a stutter include the following:

Difficulty starting a word, phrase or sentence
Prolonging a word or sounds within a word
Repetition of a sound, syllable or word
Brief silence for certain syllables or words, or pauses within a word (broken word)
Addition of extra words such as “um” if difficulty moving to the next word is anticipated
Excess tension, tightness, or movement of the face or upper body to produce a word
Anxiety about talking
Limited ability to effectively communicate.

Along with stuttering words, individuals may also suffer from rapid eye blinks, tremors of the lip and or jaw, facial tics, head jerks or clenching fists.