Call The Midwife star Helen George reveals she has ADHD

Call The Midwife star Helen George has said she is learning to live with ADHD so that she can “function best so that you can mother best”.

Speaking on the podcast, I’m ADHD! No You’re Not, the actress said she was diagnosed after her second child was born around three-and-a-half years ago.

She said she had a “lightbulb moment” when she spoke with a male friend with ADHD.

He told her about women with the condition who become mothers and are diagnosed in later life.

She said: “He was telling me all this, and then I suddenly went. ‘Oh shit, just like me. It’s like the lightbulb moment that I needed.”

George, who has starred in hit BBC drama Call The Midwife since it began in 2012, said she had never considered that she might have ADHD before.

She added: “I just thought I’m an actress and everyone’s batshit crazy.

“There’s a reason why there’s a lot of actors who have ADHD, I think because it’s (ADHD) got the skills that you need.”

George told the podcast, which is hosted by comedian Paul Whitehouse and neuroscience specialist Dr Mine Conkbayir, that she now takes medication to ease her symptoms.

She explained: “I don’t think this world provides the necessary support that we need.

“So therefore, whilst it doesn’t, I would like to take medication to see if that aids me.

“And if the world drastically changed overnight, then I would reconsider.”

George, who was a contestant on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2015, said she was still learning about what works best for her.

She told the podcast: “I’ve got to work out how you can function best so that you can mother best, so that their lives can be the best that they can be.

“So it’s ripple of that without being self-indulgent.”