Time for CHANGE

JOE SWASH on highlighting the challenges faced by teenagers in the care system

- ELAINE REILLY

JOE SWASH: TEENS IN CARE
NEW TUESDAY, 9PM, BBC1 FACTUAL

He’s one of the nation’s favourite cheeky chappies, but Joe Swash is embarking on a serious mission this week as he explores a subject close to his and his family’s heart in a new BBC1 documentary, Teens in Care.

Joe’s mum, Kiffy, has been a foster carer for the past 15 years, a role which former EastEnders star Joe has always supported.

But with the number of children aged 16 and over in care increasing by 37% in the last decade, Joe’s keen to find out what growing up within the care system in Britain is really like – hearing about it from those who have experienced it first-hand, as well as frontline workers and policymakers.

Here, Joe, 41, who won I’m a Celebrity… back in 2008 and Dancing on Ice in 2020, tells TV Times why he hopes this programme can spark change…

What inspired you to make this documentary, Joe?

My mum has looked after two foster kids long-term. The second one, Daniel, came to us when he was eight years old. He’s now 18 and in university, but I’ve always thought to myself, ‘What would he be doing if he was still in his former circumstances?’