GARETH GATES

No one knows for sure if you can inherit a stammer, and so I worry that my baby might. It's why I want to work on my speech before he arrives. I don't want him to hear me stammer.

The moment an athlete doesn't train, things start to get a bit rusty.

I haven't been the best boyfriend or husband, and that means I don't get to spend every day with my daughter.

Sharing the stage while singing my songs was a bit of a daunting prospect.

The last thing I wanted was to be with someone who's the same age as me and wanted the limelight, wanted the attention. There's lots of girls out there who do.

Before all this happened, I always used to see my stammer as being a negative, all my life, but then when I went on 'Pop Idol,' and the first time I saw it on television, it was really, really bad, but also it made me stand out; it made people remember me. So for the first time in my life, it worked to my advantage.

I'm part of a speech therapy programme called the McGuire Programme. It teaches you a new way to breathe, a new way to speak, a brand new way of tackling the mind-sets that come with having a speech impediment. Mainly, it teaches you how to slow things down, and that has really helped me.

Because I see my mum and dad as such amazing friends, I think I'll be a really good dad.

Finally having the freedom to speak is a really liberating feeling.

I really love it in Belfast. I always stay in the most bombed hotel, the Europa!

Young adults living with a stutter is hard work. How do they handle job interviews? What do they do when the phone rings? How do they 'chat someone up'? All these things the average person takes for granted prove to be a stammerer's biggest challenge.

I always wanted to be with a woman who has the same mindset and wants to look after me like my mum.

I'm not closing the door on my solo career, but with 5th Story, if the public demand is there, then I'll continue to work with the band. If not, we'll all go our separate ways again.

Living with a stammer is difficult. It's a daily uphill struggle with emotional baggage weighing you down. You can't be the person you want to be.

My speech is really important to me, but the thing is at the moment it can't be more important than my singing. Until I'm an established name all over the world, my speech won't be more important than my music.

In the music business, I found it was much more about interviews, photo shoots and appearances rather than actual performing, which I do best.

Speech and having a stammer is obviously a big part of my life.

I do find my speech difficult at times, but it's getting so much better as my confidence grows and that's thanks to the position I'm now in, which is totally due to my fans.

I've stammered all my life, and it's fair to say that my stammer has shaped my life. It's made me make some decisions that I'm sure I wouldn't have if I didn't suffer with this affliction.

I had a meal in Pizza Hut and the waitress told me I didn't need to pay. So I decided to be a bit cheeky and ask for more pizza and garlic bread.

I've got my feet firmly on the ground, I can't see life changing too much. I reckon more girls will talk to me at college and more people will look at me, but they know me for who I am.

Having my first number one single and being able to travel to places I've never been before has been amazing. The tour was also fantastic. There are so many things which I've experienced this year which I never even dreamed of.

As you know, I was a solo singer, something I just got very much used to. Turns out I'm quite enjoying being in a band!

At the age of 13, I felt it was up to me to decide whether I wanted to go to church or be with my mates, and I chose to go to church.

On the McGuire course, there's a technique called 'cancellation' where negative experiences are replaced with positive ones.