Kara Tointon: Don’t Call Me Stupid coming to BBC Three

As part of BBC Three's Born Survivors season in autumn 2010, ex-EastEnders actress Kara Tointon faces up to her dyslexic in Kara Tointon: Don’t Call Me Stupid.

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What's it about?

Actress Kara Tointon is dyslexic. She has struggled to read throughout her life. The last time Kara was tested, she had a reading age of a 12-year-old. Since then she’s avoided confronting how widely dyslexia affects her life.

In this documentary, Kara realises how different her life could be when she compares how she lives and works to her non-dyslexic cast-mates, friends and family.

As an actress, Kara has always found it hard to learn scripts. She's worked hard for it not to stand in her way but admits that for her, auditions have always been nerve-wracking, and the idea of sight-reading terrifying. Now, she embarks on potentially life-changing coaching as she sets out to improve her reading ability and deal with the wider implications that the condition has had on all aspects of her life.

Kara says, "For years, it took me much longer to learn my EastEnders lines than my cast-mates. Since I left the show, it's been even more of a struggle to read and remember lines for last-minute auditions. I was really excited about being given the opportunity to explore how exactly dyslexia has affected my life. I hope this experience will teach me how to manage my dyslexia and to also fulfil one of my biggest dreams - to read a book from cover to cover."

For the first time, Kara will confront her dyslexia head on. Will the coaching help her address her anxieties around sight-reading and line-learning? And will she fulfil her dream of reading a novel from start to finish?