'There's no blueprint for a marriage with ADHD'

As their trailblazing podcast returns, Dr Mine Conkbayir talks about living with neurodivergency and her Fast Show star husband Paul Whitehouse

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It's a familiar conversation up and down Britain as neurodivergent diagnoses boom: 'I'm ADHD!" “No, youre not”

In fact, there has been a 400% increase in people seeking a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder since 2020.

As October is ADHD Awareness Month, some might argue we have far too much awareness already. Comedian Paul Whitehouse for one.

The 67-year-old Fast Show star takes on the role of self-confessed sceptic in the trailblazing ADHD podcast he hosts with his wife, Dr Mine Conkbayir MBE, but his “devil's advocate” position opens up debate. Season four is already under way with Robbie Williams as a star guest.

The hugely successful podcast will see other celebrity ADHDers talking about the condition including Made in Chelsea's Sam Thompson and comics Sara Pascoe and Lucy Beaumont.

Dr Conkbayir, 45, is an author, lecturer and trainer in early childhood and neuroscience. She has been married to Paul for the past five years and his partner for the past 20, and has personal experience of ADHD, having been diagnosed two years ago.

She and Paul, who share a daughter Delilah, 13, live in separate houses in North London because of her ADHD. “My sensory needs are completely different, and to my daughter's,” she explains. “I need lights on all the time. I need noise and I mean 24/7. It's not enough to have the radio on. I've also got rave mixes, gospel anthems, but it’s all at once.”