Ladbible X Whatsapp
  • iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Expert explains why British woman woke up with Italian accent after stroke even though she's never been to Italy

Home> News> Health

Published 19:31 7 Mar 2025 GMT

Expert explains why British woman woke up with Italian accent after stroke even though she's never been to Italy

Althia didn't recognise her voice when she spoke for the first time after her stroke

Lucy Devine

Lucy Devine

An expert has explained why a British woman woke up with an Italian accent after having a stroke.

Althia Bryden, 58, is retired and lives in London with her husband and full-time carer, Winston, 63.

Back in May 2024, Althia suffered a stroke at home and was unable to speak or feel the upper right area of her body.

Advert

The issue was down to a carotid web in her neck, which she had removed during surgery, allowing her to be able to speak again.

But when she woke from surgery and heard her own voice, she didn't recognise who was speaking.

Althia had an Italian accent, despite having never visited Italy.

Discussing what happened on This Morning last month, Althia told Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond that she didn't realise the person who was talking was her.

"I heard this voice... I didn't realise it was me. I looked behind me in my hospital bed, who is speaking?" She said.

Advert

"Why am I speaking like this?"

Husband Winston had a huge shock, too, after hearing his wife talking in a completely different accent.

"I feel like a stranger in my own body," said Althia.

"Nobody can tell me what is happening to this.

"I have no clue."

Advert

Althia says she tries to see her new voice as a blessing, explaining she is grateful to have recovered from her stroke.

Althia suffered a stroke last year (ITV)
Althia suffered a stroke last year (ITV)

Speaking to the show, Emeritus Professor Nick Miller explained why Althia's voice sounds so different.

"What's happening is if it's affected parts of the brain that control your speech, your tongue, your lips and your vocal chords, that affects the strength of movement, the speed of movement, the range of movements of your tongue and lips, that in turn alters the way your speech sounds or the rhythm of speech," said Professor Miller.

The expert also explained that after a stroke, the patient may start to add extra sounds in to their usual speech, which can in turn make it sound different.

Advert

Althia's husband was shocked when he heard her voice (ITV)
Althia's husband was shocked when he heard her voice (ITV)

Called the foreign accent syndrome, the NHS describes the phenomenon as happening as a result of brain damage, such as a stroke.

Although Althia is waiting for a formal diagnosis, she feels like she’s lost her identity.

"Even my laugh is not the same… I’m not me, it’s like someone is impersonating me. I feel like a clown with an upside-down smile that people are watching perform. They are laughing, but I still have an upside-down smile," she told PA Real Life.

“It’s very sad – everything is different, even my body language is different. People aren’t meeting the original me, I don’t know who I am.”

Advert

Althia was also diagnosed with aphasia, which is when a person has difficulty with their language or speech, as per the NHS.

She said: “My brain couldn’t understand it – it was very frightening for me and I felt afraid and confused.”

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/This Morning

Topics: Health, News, This Morning, Community, UK News, NHS

Lucy Devine
Lucy Devine

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Doctor explains key signs that your 'hay fever' is actually new Covid strain
  • Average penis size in UK as urologist explains truth behind 'Ozempic penis'
  • Brian May issues statement after suffering stroke and losing control of his arm
  • Doctor explains that they often miss serious condition that one in ten UK women suffer from

Choose your content:

11 hours ago
  • 11 hours ago

    Man, 92, found guilty of murder of woman nearly 60 years ago in UK's 'longest cold case'

    75-year-old Louisa Dunne was murdered in her Bristol home in 1967

    News
  • 11 hours ago

    'Marriage destroyer' holiday hotspot where Brits 'can't stop cheating' revealed

    Time to cancel those flights

    News
  • 11 hours ago

    Brit ranked no.733 in world won't receive £99k prize money despite shock first round win at Wimbledon

    Oliver Tarvet won't see the money because of a sporting rule

    News
  • 11 hours ago

    Police in frantic search for victim's head after reality star girlfriend charged with murder

    Police believe he was killed nearly two weeks ago now

    News