Woman who gave a fake name to colleagues as she could not say her own overcomes lifelong stammer

Anna called herself ‘Hannah’ for two whole years because it was easier to pronounce – but now she has ‘found her voice’.

A woman who gave a fake name to colleagues as she could not say her own told how she has finally overcome her crippling stammer.

Anna has overcome her stammer (PA Real Life/Collect)

Anna Blackburn, 34, was heckled by cruel bullies in her teens who dubbed her “jibber jabber” because of the speech problem which started when she was a small child.

Her confidence destroyed, she even took to using a false name as she entered the working world, calling herself ‘Hannah’ for two whole years because it was easier to pronounce.

Anna was heckled by cruel bullies in her teens (PA Real Life/Collect)

In time, she decided to train as a teacher – but found that, once qualified, she struggled to read the morning register aloud, and was sometimes forced to write what she had to say on the whiteboard.

But now, having enrolled on a speech therapy course, she has finally overcome her stammer – and is even considering becoming a motivational speaker.

Anna, of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, said: “I feel completely empowered now. I was petrified I was going to be like this for the rest of my life, but now I believe I can do anything.”

Anna has finally overcome her crippling stammer (PA Real Life/Collect)

For as far back as she can remember, Anna struggled with her stammer, prompting cruel children at school to mock and mimic her.

Between the ages of six and 10, she saw a speech and language therapist – but said it did little to help.

Then, when she went to secondary school, things got worse.

Anna has overcome her stammer (PA Real Life/Collect)

With the frequent playground taunts destroying her confidence, she became angry and would swear a lot to cover up her impediment.

“People would think it was okay to say things about my stammer, tease me or ask why I couldn’t get it under control,” Anna recalled.

Anna is even considering becoming a motivational speaker (PA Real Life/Collect)

“I would dread the song Boom! Shake the Room by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince at school discos, as when the lyric ‘but sometimes I get n-nervous and start to stutter’ came on, people would point and laugh at me.”

For years, Anna could barely pronounce her own name, instead making an “aaa” sound and developing a tic where she flipped her head backwards, causing confused looks from strangers.

Her stammer taking over her life, she’d find it too difficult to say where she wanted to go on public transport, and would even pretend she had forgotten things – like the name of a friend – when asked, as she struggled to get the words out.

Anna used to call herself 'Hannah' (PA Real Life/Collect)

“While out for food with friends, I’d just say ‘same’ when it came to ordering, even if I didn’t want the same meals as them because I was too scared of having to say the name of my own dish,” she said.

Despite graduating from the University of Derby with a law degree, Anna’s self-esteem was so low that she never believed she could fulfil her dream of becoming a teacher.

Anna was heckled by cruel bullies in her teens who dubbed her “jibber jabber” (PA Real Life/Collect)

Taking temporary jobs in admin, her stammer continued to wreak havoc.

And, joining South Yorkshire Police as a secretary in 2008, she even told people she was called Hannah as she struggled to say her own name.

“I couldn’t say my actual name, but found Hannah easier, so let people think that was what I was called for about two years,” she said.

“When I was leaving and people found out, they were mortified I hadn’t corrected them, but it was so much easier for me.”

Anna cannot remember a time when she did not stammer (PA Real Life/Collect)

As the years passed, Anna’s dream of becoming a teacher was always at the back on her mind.

Pushing her fears aside, she went to an open day at Sheffield Hallam University in 2009.

“I told them I have a degree in law and wanted to be a teacher, but I have a stammer and was worried I couldn’t do it,” she said.

“They were very encouraging and told me to come back a year later with experience of working with children. I don’t think I realised how bad my stammer was then and thought I would have a go.”

After completing her training at Sheffield Hallam, Anna was offered a job teaching health and social care at at Outwood Academy Valley in Worksop in 2012.

But, despite doing her best to control her speaking difficulties, she still struggled.

“Sometimes I just couldn’t speak in class,” she said. “I gave assemblies occasionally but would suffer terribly with nerves for months beforehand and would often stutter during them. I would also never dare to address other teachers in whole-school meetings.”

Despite being open with her students about her struggles, in November last year Anna reached breaking point.

Anna is now a successful teacher (PA Real Life/Collect)

“I couldn’t even read the register and it got me down so much,” she tearfully continued.

“I genuinely considered leaving my job and going to work in Asda stacking shelves. That way, I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone and could remain in denial about my speech.”

But everything changed for Anna one day in the Christmas holidays last year when she found a Facebook support page for people who stammer, and came across the McGuire Programme, which put her on the road to recovery.

She said: “For years I had come up with tricks to hide my stammer and lived in denial about how bad it was. But looking at the McGuire Programme I saw I had a chance to improve my speech, live my life to the full and be the confident and fantastic teacher I knew I was.”

She joined the class in April this year and, after completing a five-day course in Harrogate, North Yorkshire and developing breathing techniques, practicing public speaking and looking at psychological factors, Anna was transformed.

Returning to school after the Easter holidays, she was gobsmacked when she read the school register with ease.

“It was an amazing moment to go through the class names and not trip up once,” she said. One student even said, ‘Miss, you’ve got your voice back!’ which made me burst into tears, because I really did.”

Now, taking assemblies and even addressing staff at whole-school meetings, Anna admits she still has to work on her speech, but is a different person from the one she was 12 months ago.

And with two coaches from the programme supporting her, she sends voice notes to them through WhatsApp every day, to make sure her speech remains fluid.

Ahead of her wedding to her fiancé, who she does not wish to name, in November this year, Anna feels confident she will read her full vows without a slip-up.

Anna added: “I can’t believe how far I have come, it’s been such a big transformation in such a small period of time. I would urge anyone with a stammer to get the help and support they need. I feel like I could achieve anything now.”

SYDNEY (AP) — England's players and management are undergoing a performance review following the 4-1 Ashes series defeat in Australia, with England Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould vowing to “implement the necessary changes" over coming months.

Gould issued a statement after England's five-wicket loss in the fifth test Thursday, highlighting disappointment in the campaign after the squad traveled to Australia with high expectations of ending a long drought Down Under.

The planning, tactics and preparation of head coach Brendon McCullum and cricket director Rob Key will be part of the review, along with “individual performances and behaviors” and the team's ability to adapt and react to conditions.

“This Ashes tour began with significant hope and anticipation, and it is therefore deeply disappointing that we have been unable to fulfill our ambition," Gould said. “While there were moments of strong performance and resilience, including a hard-fought victory in the fourth test in Melbourne, we were not consistent enough across all conditions and phases of the contest.”

Gould said the cricket board was “determined to improve quickly” as the team prepares for the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next month.

England captain Ben Stokes said the performances were “so far below the level that this team can operate at."

He suggested one reason might the ability of opposing teams to counteract England's attack-at-all costs ”Bazball" approach, which is a vast departure tactically from conventional test cricket.

“We are now playing against teams who have answers to the style of cricket that we have been playing over quite a long period of time,” Stokes said. "In the first couple of years (under McCullum), teams found it difficult to try and come up with anything to combat the way that we played.

“But there’s moments in games throughout the (Ashes) series, and even before that, where we’ve almost gifted the flow of the game back to the opposition.”

Stokes said England had to be prepared to rethink its approach, having lost 14 test of the 28 test matches it has played since the beginning of 2024.

“When a trend is happening on a consistent basis in the way that you don’t want it to happen, that’s when you do need to go back and go look at the drawing board and make some adjustments,” he said.

McCullum, the main architect of England's aggressive batting approach that the tourists started the tour with, said he'd be open to minor changes but not a complete overhaul.

“You’ve got to have conviction in your methods,” he told the BBC. "You’re not against evolution and progress, but you’ve got to have conviction in what you believe in.

“It’s about nipping and tucking to try and get a better version of your style and your beliefs.”

McCullum said he'd “see what happens” with the review “but I firmly believe in how we go about trying to build this team and progress on what we’ve done.”

One person in McCullum's corner will be his captain.

“If something ever comes to it, I’ll be asked for my opinion and he’ll be getting my full support,” Stokes said. "I absolutely love working with Baz, he’s a great man and he’s a very, very, very good coach.”

Australia retained the Ashes with wins in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide, before England's drought-breaking win in the fourth test in Melbourne made it 3-1 ahead of the test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Australia has won four consecutive home Ashes series since England's last win here in 2010-11.

England struggled this tour with injuries to key bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, a heavy workload for skipper Ben Stokes which meant he couldn't bowl on the last day of the series, and a consistently flawed approach to batting in pressure situations.

England's fielding was also problematic across the series, with a reported 17 catches put down at a cost of hundreds of runs.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

England's Ben Stokes signs his autograph for a fan following the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Cameron Green, left, is congratulated by England's Jacob Bethell following the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

England's Ben Stokes, centre, gestures to teammate Brydon Carse, right, during play on the last day of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)