'Being blind helped with my nerves on TV'

This Morning regular Claire Sisk chats about losing her sight and how she coped with it

- EVE MACDONALD

Claire Sisk was 29 when her world was turned upside down. Following two strokes, she started losing her eyesight and, after numerous tests, was declared blind. She had to learn how to adjust her – and her daughter’s – way of living in order to adapt. Now, the 44-year-old, who makes regular appearances on This Morning, is making it her mission to spread awareness of what living with sight loss is like and offer support to others going through similar challenges.

Claire, from Hertford, has a TikTok channel @canseecantsee with more than 250,000 followers. Not only does she share tips and tricks – like how she styles her hair and applies make-up – but she’s a disability advocate, who has created an empowering community for people to share their experiences.

Here, Claire opens up about the misconceptions she’s faced, how she came to be working on TV and her career ambitions.

Hi, Claire! We love watching you on This Morning – were you nervous at first?

I couldn’t believe they’d asked me. But I think being blind actually helped with my nerves because I couldn’t see the cameras [laughs]. Plus, the passion I have to spread awareness overtook any kind of fear. I was recently on the show to show how I put on make-up as a blind person and I thought to myself, “If something goes wrong, then that’s the reality of my life.”

There have been calls for you to join full-time. Would you?

Yes, I would love to do more TV. My mantra is to help people. I’m trying to show that, yes, it does suck being blind – but we can still have a good life.

You’ve talked about your experience of going blind on the show. Can you share that story with our readers?