91Èȱ¬

Celebrities have been telling 91Èȱ¬ Radio 5 Live how reading helps their well-being.

Former Girls Aloud member Nicola Roberts says reading a book makes her feel like she’s had “a small win”.

“Getting to the end of a book is very tiny in the grand scheme of things,” she says.

“But it makes you feel something.”

Nicola only got into reading during lockdown.

“I just don’t think I had the patience for it before,” she says.

She likes to read at lunchtime and is a fan of autobiographies like Michelle Obama’s and Julia Andrews’.

“You just get a real insight into their life,” she says.

Nicola is now an ambassador for Read Talk Share, from the national charity The Reading Agency.

She says she wishes she was encouraged more to read as a child.

“I was at dance class or singing lessons or drama class so I never actually had that much time to read,” she says.

Click to listen to her interview.

Tanya Bardsley, from The Real Housewives of Cheshire, was diagnosed with dyslexia as an adult.

She says she was “terrified of reading” as a child.

“I was so stressed,” she says. “I used to cry and pretend I was sick because I just did not want to read.

“I think my mum, the teachers, everyone just thought I was a bit thick.

“Now I realise I just needed a bit more time, a bit more attention.”

Now she has learnt to read, she says it helps her relax.

“I actually find it a form of meditation,” she says.

She likes reading stuff “that’s going to make me happier, richer, skinnier or more confident”.

“I can’t read big words still, I’m still not at that stage, but I really really enjoy it now,” says Tanya.

Tanya has now joined 5 Live’s ‘Not A Book Club’. The aim of the club is to encourage people who don’t normally read to pick up a book.

Find out more about the club here or watch Tanya's interview .

Val McDermid is one of the biggest names in crime writing.

More than 16 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide.

She says reading “opened up the door” for her and helped her spread her wings.

“It gave me a sense of a wider world out there and it made me want to see that world for myself,” she says.

She thinks reading helps people be more caring.

“If you walk inside someone’s shoes, you have a wider understanding of how their lives work,” she says.

“And that’s the glue that holds society together, caring for other people.”

Val wants more help for people who struggle with their reading.

“People are often written off at an early age,” she says.

“They’re treated as if they’re stupid.

“I’m astonished when I go into people’s houses and I see no books,” she adds.

5 Live has launched a project called Word Matters focusing on the millions of adults in the UK who find it difficult to read and write. Click here to find out more.