The Traitors host has been open about her health issues in the past
Claudia Winkleman will be stepping back into The Traitors’ castle as she welcomes famous faces to take part in the ultimate mind-bending game. However, away from the camera, the star has been dealing with a major health issue that affects her life every day.
The 53-year-old has been quite open and honest about her health struggles in recent years, including an ongoing battle with a chronic health condition – severe myopia. According to the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), myopia is a “refractive error” that means light is not focused correctly onto the back of the eye, and vision is not clear.
The mum-of-two opened up about her struggles on Gabby Logan’s ‘The Mid Point’ podcast about the lengths she has gone to correct the issue with surgery. She said that her vision has fluctuated dramatically from short-sightedness to long-sightedness, creating significant reading challenges, reports Surrey Live.
Claudia said: “I’ve had lens replacement. I’ve had so many operations on my eyes. I had a lens replacement in my left eye because my astigmatism was so bad, but I was minus 16, that was 14 years ago, and then I had a little fiddle with it, but because I was so short-sighted by then, fixing it I’m now long-sighted, so I can’t really read anymore.
“I can with glasses, I’ve got plus 2.5 but I can’t read The Bee Sting with those glasses and that light.”
Known for her long-standing job on Stricly Come Dancing, Claudia confessed during the How To Fail podcast that her lifelong history of eye complications has meant she has “always had terrible eyesight.” She continued: “I’ve had a couple of operations since then because I was just banging into walls. But now I wear lenses or glasses or whatever.”
Claudia’s vision difficulties have previously prevented her from carrying out basic presenting duties that most TV hosts take for granted, including reading from the autocue. She previously said: “I can’t even begin to tell you how blind I am, it’s embarrassing.
“I can’t read the autocue. My eyes have deteriorated so badly, I’m not meant to drive. I am doing the wrong job.”
Despite her ongoing sight struggles, Claudia has maintained an upbeat outlook whilst remaining a beloved fixture on British telly, bringing joy to viewers across the nation. Claudia will host the first celebrity version of The Traitors on BBC One, which starts on October 8 at 9pm on BBC One.
Source: Mirror
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