In April 2023, Jamie Oliver did an interview on BBC Breakfast that was supposed to be like any other. He was there to promote his first children’s book, Billy and the Giant Adventure. Little did he know, however, that he would break down emotionally when discussing the very personal topic of his dyslexia - or that the interview would go viral as a result. In an exclusive interview with Good Housekeeping, Jamie opened up about what triggered those feelings to resurface – and how he’s dealing with it now.
Starring on the cover of GH’s legendary Christmas issue, Jamie explained that the emotions we saw on the breakfast show shocked even him. “I felt I’d brushed the chips off my shoulder about my terrible experiences at school,” he shared, “but I suddenly got really emotional in the interview. It just came out of nowhere and I really didn’t want to be that exposed, but I clearly hit on something very raw.
Jamie is famously open about his own struggles and the experience of being labelled a special needs student at school - and yet he’s Britain’s second-biggest selling author after JK Rowling. “I’m quite a strong person and breaking down like that was a real shock to me, but I think I just unlocked a memory that I’d hidden”, he added.
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His searing vulnerability and outward, honest emotion tapped right into a national nerve, and Channel 4 leapt at the chance to make a powerful documentary, which revolved around Jamie’s Dyslexia Revolution campaign, which aims to improve the education system for children with dyslexia. And his passion for the subject is unbounded.
“We’re destroying the innocent optimism of kids,” he explained during the interview. “Everyone’s different and the school system isn’t structured to recognise that. Nature’s intention is to have variation and that has been explained to me by top neuroscientists.”
He added that, “Both prisons and poverty are heavily weighted by dyslexia,’ insisting that he’s going to fight for continued inclusion in classrooms for ‘neurodivergence and all its nuances”.
The feedback from the public was, he says, unlike anything he’s seen before, and he got just as much support at home from his children. “We’re a neurodiverse family and I think it’s healthy to talk about that and embrace it. Even River, when he’s acting or thinking differently, can explain to his peers how he sees things and why, and that’s fantastic.”
Jamie, it seems, is looking forwards as much as he is backwards upon his life these days. There have been challenges along the way: his struggles with dyslexia and the "restaurant years", when his empire collapsed, to name a couple. But turning 50, he says, has brought a sense of peace. “Turning 50 definitely felt like half a century,” he said. “I’m in a place of real gratitude, though, and I think if you’re going to have a good go at the second half of your life, you have to edit away all the noise. Just be with lovely people. I’m avoiding negative people [who he amusingly refers to as “mood hoovers”] and getting better at saying no.”
As for what’s next, Jamie has his sights set on all seven Olivers collapsing into the Christmas season. The big day will be spent at their family home in Essex - a Tudor property with Georgian additions. Given how rare it is that all five children are together now that Poppy and Daisy have flown the nest, leaving Petal, Buddy and River at home, he and Jools will be making the most of every moment. “Some years, we’ve done marshmallows around the fire or pork pies and picky plates on Christmas Eve with family and friends, but then it’s been quite nice to keep Christmas Day just for us,” explained Jools. “Jamie works so hard and it’s nice just to keep it small and really chilled.”
Read the full interview in Good Housekeeping UK’s December issue, on sale from Thursday 23rd October. Visit jamieoliver.com/christmas for all your festive recipe needs. Jamie’s Cook-Ahead Christmas airs on Channel 4 on 8th December.
