'Our house is now so tidy'

Nadia Sawalha explains how an ADHD diagnosis has transformed her life

- GEMMA CALVERT

Nadia has been revealing her innermost feelings. announcing After recently that she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (known as ADHD), she has been praised for raising awareness of the complex neurodiverse condition.

For the former actor, the diagnosis was game-changing. It helped her understand why, over a lifetime, she has been prone to disorganisation and procrastination common traits among those with ADHD whose brains produce less dopamine, the chemical that is associated with reward and pleasure.

Now Nadia is taking a 30mg dose of the stimulant Elvanse daily, quality of life has been transformed. Not only is she 'more productive' and 'working harder', her home life is unrecognisable - the 58-year-old lives with her TV producer husband of two decades Mark Adderley, 52, who also has ADHD (and with whom Nadia has a hit YouTube channel), plus their daughters, Maddie, 20, and Kiki-Bee, 15.

'I've had the longest stretch of the downstairs of our house being tidy,' smiles Nadia. 'I come downstairs in the morning and can't believe my life when there's no washing-up in the sink or piles of stuff everywhere. My mind's clearer and my life's much more organised, so I'm able to think more about other things and, of course, I can listen and concentrate better as well.

'When I used to do yoga, my mind would wander so many times but now I'm so focused, which lifts it to another level. The ADHD diagnosis and treatment has given me a new lease of life, in the same way HRT did years ago. It's like another door has opened.'