Jack Thorne Reveals How DESERT ISLAND DISCS Appearance Led to Autism Diagnosis
The writer appeared on the show in 2021
By: Aliya Al-Hassan Jan. 05, 2023
BAFTA-winning screenwriter and playwright Jack Thorne has revealed he was diagnosed with autism after a listener got in touch about his interview on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.
Writing on Twitter, the 44-year-old told his followers he was diagnosed just before Christmas, following a "long journey" that started with a listener contacting him about his interview with host Lauren Laverne.
Some personal news: just before Christmas I was diagnosed autistic. A long journey but one I'm very very happy to have gone on. Makes sense of stuff before, hopefully will help with stuff to come. I don't understand it all yet, but I'm getting there.
- Jack Thorne (@jackthorne) January 4, 2023
Thorne also said: "Bizarrely it started with doing Desert Island Discs - a very kind listener reached out and asked whether I'd considered the idea I might be autistic. My lovely agent, who got the note, thought there might be truth to it. My wife did too. So I started digging in.
"It's a complicated process, getting diagnosed, but I found lots of kindness along the way. I'm very very very pleased to have done it, and I'm very very very pleased to know this about myself."
Thorne's work includes including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Woyzeck, A Christmas Carol for the Old Vic and After Life for The National Theatre.
His upcoming work, The Motive And The Cue, is a new play set during rehearsals for the acclaimed 1964 Broadway production of Hamlet, with Sir John Gielgud directing Richard Burton, newly married to Elizabeth Taylor, as Hamlet.
Listen to Jack Thorne's epsiode of Desert Island Discs here.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride
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