'I was embarrassed by my condition but Lewis Capaldi has made me realise it's OK'

A woman with Tourette’s who says people often think she is ‘lying’ about her condition has praised Lewis Capaldi for bringing the syndrome ‘into the open’.

Grace Lily, 20, has suffered from the condition since she was four-years-old and says she often finds it embarrassing when she tics. But Grace and her mum, Hannah, 45, say Capaldi's approach to dealing with Tourette's has opened people’s eyes to the realities of the condition.

The Someone You Loved singer revealed that he had been diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome last year. During his Glastonbury set last weekend, Capaldi struggled to finish his performance and asked the crowd to sing along with him after he lost his voice.

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Grace says a lot of people don't take into account the physical pain from ticking and see it ‘just as swearing’ and think she is ‘lying’ or ‘joking’ about it. "I never used to tell anyone that I had it up until about a year ago and that's mainly because of Lewis Capaldi and Billie Eilish,” she explained.

"It can be painful and my body is in a lot of pain quite a lot of time from the tics. I do get quite embarrassed about it as a lot of people think Tourette's is just swearing and they ask me what I'm doing when I'm ticking.

"When I tic in front of someone they always think I'm joking or lying about having Tourette's."

Grace's mum, Hannah, added: "It's amazing to see the support. We felt for him and it made us quite tearful. He's got that support because of the person that he is as well. Because he talks about it so much it's really brought out into the open that it isn't just swearing."

Grace, who runs a dog walking business from Nuneaton,