The King’s Speech is in cinemas January 7th 2011. Courtesy of Momentum Pictures.
Tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stutter and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country through war.

Celebrities who conquered their stutter

Bruce Willis
Despite making a name for himself by playing tough and fearless characters, Bruce Willis was a shy child with a stuttering problem. Like many other actors who have suffered with stuttering problems, Willis was able to use acting as a way to mask his stutter. He became increasingly interested in acting as he grew older and was able to grow out of his stutter by the time he was seventeen.

Emily Blunt
Rising star Emily Blunt had a stutter which was so severe as a child that she was almost forced to choose a different career path. The successful actress admitted that she struggled to hold conversations and found talking difficult. It was only when a teacher suggested acting as a way of distancing herself from her stutter and changing her voice that she decided to pursue acting as a career.

Gareth Gates
Singer Gareth Gates had a well-publicised problem with stuttering which continued into his adulthood. Gareth sought professional help for his stutter and underwent an intense speech development course to rid him of the problem. Gareth has used his experience at successfully overcoming his stutter to help others do the same. He studied to become a speech coach for the McGuire Programme, helping to lead courses in speech development and teaching techniques to overcome the speech blocks and challenging words.

Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods says the competitiveness he learned from his mother helped him overcome his childhood stutter. He would practise speaking without a stutter by talking to his dog until he fell asleep, and believes that this exercise is what enabled him to get rid of his stutter.

Julia Roberts
The Oscar-winning actress and her brother Eric both suffered from stuttering problems as children. Despite their difficulties, they were both able to overcome their speaking afflictions and become very successful actors.