Why public disclosure matters
When a public figure speaks openly about their ADHD, the effect on others with undiagnosed or dismissed ADHD can be significant. Recognition — "that is exactly how my brain works" — is often the thing that prompts someone to seek assessment for the first time. Stigma reduction in workplaces and classrooms follows when people in authority or in the public eye normalise neurodivergence.
That said, it is important to hold two things at once. Celebrity ADHD stories can be inspiring. They can also, inadvertently, reinforce the narrative that ADHD is something creative, hyperactive people have — and that the difficulty is part of the gift. For many people, ADHD causes profound suffering: job losses, relationship breakdowns, debt, mental health crises, and decades of feeling defective. Public disclosure matters most when it is honest about the full picture, not just the highlight reel.
Every person listed below has spoken personally and publicly about their diagnosis. We have linked primary sources where available. We have deliberately excluded individuals where disclosure is uncertain, reported by others, or based on inference from behaviour.
Rory Bremner
Rory Bremner — the Scottish impressionist and comedian, best known for his work on Spitting Image and Rory Bremner: Who Else? — was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and has spoken extensively about the experience in interviews and in a BBC documentary. Bremner has described ADHD as both an explanation for years of difficulty with concentration and organisation, and a source of the rapid associative thinking that drives his impressionist work. In a 2014 documentary for the BBC, he explored ADHD in adults, interviewing researchers and clinicians and undergoing assessment himself, finding that his profile was consistent with ADHD. He has spoken about how the condition went unrecognised throughout his school and early professional life, attributing his academic difficulties to distraction rather than neurodivergence. Bremner is one of the most prominent UK public figures to have engaged seriously with adult ADHD awareness, using his platform to interview clinicians and researchers rather than simply disclosing his own diagnosis. BBC documentary source.
Sue Perkins
Comedian, presenter, and writer Sue Perkins — best known for co-presenting The Great British Bake Off with Mel Giedroyc — has publicly spoken about her ADHD diagnosis in interviews, including discussions about how it affects her working life and creative process. Perkins has described the experience of receiving her diagnosis as an adult as clarifying — a retrospective explanation for patterns of behaviour and thought that had previously felt inexplicable. She has been candid about the challenges ADHD presents alongside her public career, noting that the high-stimulus environment of television production can both suit and strain an ADHD brain simultaneously. Perkins has used interviews to discuss the gendered dimension of ADHD diagnosis — how women are systematically underdiagnosed and often receive an anxiety or depression label first — an experience consistent with the clinical literature on female ADHD presentation. Source: The Guardian.
Johnny Vegas
Comedian and actor Johnny Vegas — known for his roles in Benidorm, Ideal, and countless stand-up performances — has spoken publicly about his ADHD diagnosis and its relationship to his comedy career. Vegas has described how his ADHD manifests in his performance style: the rapid shifts, the tangential thinking, the combustible energy that characterises his stage persona. He has been candid about the harder aspects of the condition away from the stage, including difficulties with impulse control, emotional regulation, and the gap between how he presents publicly and how he functions in quieter, more structured environments. Vegas's disclosure is notable for its honesty about the relationship between ADHD and mental health, and the way in which creativity and difficulty coexist in the same condition rather than cancelling each other out. Source: public disclosure in his autobiography Becoming Johnny Vegas (HarperCollins, 2014) and subsequent UK press interviews (including The Guardian and The Times) discussing his neurodevelopmental diagnosis.
Sam Thompson
Sam Thompson — television personality, former Made in Chelsea cast member, and winner of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! 2023 — has been one of the most visible public advocates for ADHD awareness in the UK in recent years. Thompson has documented his ADHD diagnosis and medication journey extensively on social media and in interviews, speaking with unusual openness about the practical daily realities of living with ADHD as an adult. He has discussed the stigma he encountered, the relief of diagnosis, the process of finding the right medication, and the impact of ADHD on his relationships and work. Thompson's large social media following — particularly among younger audiences — has made his advocacy particularly impactful, normalising conversations about ADHD assessment for a demographic that may not engage with traditional health information sources. His partner Pete Wicks has also spoken supportively about understanding ADHD in close relationships. Source: public disclosure on Sam Thompson's Instagram (@samthompsonuk), the Channel 4 documentary Sam Thompson: Is This ADHD? (2024) and multiple UK press interviews during and after his 2023 I'm a Celebrity appearance.
Lily Allen
Musician Lily Allen — known for Smile, The Fear, and multiple critically acclaimed albums — has spoken publicly about her ADHD diagnosis in interviews and in her memoir My Thoughts Exactly (2018). Allen has described how her ADHD went unrecognised throughout her childhood and early career, and how it intersected with other mental health difficulties she experienced. She has discussed the cognitive and emotional dimensions of her ADHD in the context of the music industry — an environment that is simultaneously well-suited to and demanding for an ADHD brain — and has been candid about the relationship between undiagnosed neurodivergence, the coping mechanisms she developed, and the long-term consequences for her mental health. Allen's willingness to discuss neurodivergence alongside broader mental health and addiction in her memoir is notable for the integrated, non-sensationalised way in which she presents the intersecting conditions. Source: My Thoughts Exactly, Penguin.
What these stories tell us
Reading across these five disclosures, several patterns emerge that are consistent with the clinical literature on ADHD:
Late diagnosis is the norm, not the exception. All five were diagnosed in adulthood. This reflects the systemic failure to identify ADHD in children and young people — particularly in girls, who present differently from the hyperactive-boy stereotype — and the tendency to attribute ADHD-driven difficulties to anxiety, depression, personality, or choice.
Diagnosis often brings relief, not loss. Multiple public figures have described their diagnosis as explaining a lifetime of confusion — the gap between ability and output, the chronic sense of being different, the exhaustion of compensating. Diagnosis does not create the difficulty; it names something that has always been there.
High achievement does not mean ADHD is mild. Several people on this list are high-achieving professionals. This can create the misleading impression that ADHD is not that serious. In each case, the achievement has come alongside — not instead of — significant difficulty. The public face rarely shows the private cost.
If you think you might have ADHD
If reading about these public figures has prompted you to wonder whether ADHD might explain patterns in your own life, the right next step is a formal assessment — not a self-diagnosis based on recognition, however powerful.
You can ask your GP to refer you for an adult ADHD assessment under NICE guideline NG87. Under NHS Right to Choose, you can select your preferred NHS-funded ADHD assessment provider, which can significantly reduce waiting times. Our ADHD self-screening quiz can help you organise your thoughts before your GP appointment, and our Right to Choose for ADHD guide explains the referral process step by step.
Frequently asked questions
›Why do so many people get diagnosed with ADHD as adults?
Adult ADHD diagnosis has increased substantially in the UK over the past decade, partly because awareness has grown and partly because many people — particularly women — were not assessed as children. The NHS NICE guideline NG87 recommends assessment at any age if symptoms are present. Many of the public figures listed in this guide were diagnosed in adulthood, often after years of struggling with symptoms that had been attributed to personality traits, anxiety, or depression.
›Does having ADHD mean you will succeed like these public figures?
No — and it is important not to use celebrity ADHD stories to imply that ADHD is an advantage or that everyone with ADHD can succeed if they just try hard enough. Many people with ADHD face significant difficulties at work, in relationships, and with mental health. The public figures who have spoken openly about their ADHD are valuable because they reduce stigma and encourage others to seek assessment — not because their success is a template that applies to everyone.
›How do I know if someone on this list actually has ADHD?
Every person listed in this guide has personally and publicly disclosed their ADHD diagnosis in an interview, documentary, book, or social media post. We have included source links. We have not included anyone where the disclosure was made by a third party, where the report is based on speculation, or where the disclosure was ambiguous. If you spot an error or a source has changed, please email us.
›Can I get an ADHD assessment on the NHS as an adult?
Yes. NICE guideline NG87 supports adult ADHD assessment at any age. You can ask your GP to refer you, and under NHS Right to Choose you can request referral to a specific NHS-funded ADHD assessment provider, which often significantly reduces waiting times compared to your local NHS service.
›What should I do if I think I have ADHD after reading about these people?
Start by speaking to your GP and asking for an ADHD assessment referral under NICE NG87. You can also use a structured self-report tool such as the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1) to organise your symptoms before the appointment. Our guide on NHS ADHD waiting lists explains what to expect, and our Right to Choose for ADHD guide explains how to use the NHS Right to Choose pathway to access a provider faster.
›Are there famous people who were diagnosed with ADHD as children in the UK?
Some public figures have described childhood diagnoses that were not publicly disclosed at the time, with the disclosure coming in adulthood. Others were assessed as adults. The cultural shift towards open discussion of neurodivergence — driven partly by social media and partly by high-profile disclosures — has made it much easier for public figures to speak openly in the last five to ten years.