Comedian Alan Carr has confirmed a surprise medical diagnosis led to his high-pitched voice and nasal tone after being bullied over it for years. The 49-year-old said his condition leads to other physical problems and is all caused by a valve which doesn’t work properly.

Speaking on his Life’s a Beach podcast, Alan explained: “I’ve got hypernasality. That’s why my voice is quite clipped, because I’ve got a lot of tension in my jaw.” The speech condition is caused when a valve that usually separates the nose and mouth during speech doesn’t close properly, leading to the high-pitched, nasal tone.

People with hypernasality tend to clench their jaw muscles to control their speech, which can be painful and make the problem worse.

Now Alan is contemplating having his jaw treated after enduring teasing over his voice for years. He previously described it as “a seagull with its wing trapped”.

He said he realised aged 12 what he sounded like: “I did drama and we watched a play back and I was like: 'What's that voice?' My voice soared like a seagull with its wing trapped. It was like a punch in the stomach. Why didn't anyone tell me? But the bullies were telling me. It was awful."

Alan was inspired by singer LeAnn Rime, who underwent a jaw massage to unlock the tension.

He said on his show: “She went, oh my god, oh my god - click - and she burst into tears because she carried all this tension.”

He previously told Express of the bullying: “It was just psychological, really. I’m not justifying bullying but I’m sure I must have been annoying. I probably was a bit loud.

“I never was a victim, as I always thought they were losers. From [the age of] one until nine I had loads of friends but then it was lonely.”