EastEnders' Kara Tointon has revealed how her battle with dyslexia has affected her career as an actress. Kara, who plays Dawn Swann in the soap, said that at one point she feared she would never pass an audition because her condition makes it nearly impossible for her to read the scripts. "It’s difficult with my dyslexia to even get a part because some auditions you get the scripts on the day, because they don’t want the storylines getting out," Kara told the Daily Star. “I don’t stand a chance when it’s like that because I really need to study the words to get them in my head.” But Kara has found a way to deal with the problem; her sister Hannah, who plays Katy Fox in Hollyoaks, helps her to learn her lines in advance. "I get the scripts a week before I have to film the scenes so I have to go through them really carefully." According to the 25-year-old actress, dyslexia is a widespread problem among actors and the condition should not prevent other people from achieving their goals. She said: “There are so many actors who suffer from dyslexia and it’s important to know that it shouldn’t stop you just because you find it hard to read. I’m not the fastest in the class, I’m an awful reader, but learning lines is OK now. “I hope that I encourage others. Yes, it takes that little bit longer but you can get there in the end. I’d tell anyone, ‘Don’t let it stop you’.”
