Looking After Mum
Duration: 1 x 59'
Play Trailer Play Screener Contact SalesThis sensitively produced film follows unsung child heroes as they navigate the formative moments of their life alongside the emotional strain and anxiety of caring.
Following four young carers, we are given a rare chance to see into their world – a world that can lurch between joy and heartache in an instant.
Every day across the country an army of unsung child heroes faces extraordinary challenges that most adults would struggle to cope with. They are Britain’s 700,000 young carers. While many feel stigmatised, overlooked and even bullied by a society that doesn’t understand the difficulties they face, others are fiercely proud and protective of their role. In this film we get to know four young carers, giving us a rare chance to see into their world – a world that can lurch between joy and heartache in an instant.
Over the course of several months these young carers allowed our cameras to follow them and their families as they deal with situations most adults would struggle to cope with. All four look after mothers who need continual care – from a life-threatening condition to mental health problems and blindness. What unites them is their deeply engrained sense of responsibility and an unbreakable bond with their mother. They all have to find a way to balance their caring roles with the need to still have and enjoy a childhood.
Brothers Tom (10) and Joe (14) look after their mum Vicky who has a rare liver condition that has become critical over the last two years. Without a liver transplant she only has months to live. Antonia-Rae (11) lives alone with her mum Lesley who has had a stroke leaving her paralysed down her right side and battling with depression. Kashanna (18) has cared for her blind mother Bernadette since she was four and she’s recently quit college so she can work and support her mum.
This powerful film captures the extraordinary strength and resilience of a group that often remains in the shadows.
What the Press Say:
“A heartrending film.” – The Observer
“This emotive film follows four extraordinary young carers who all look after mothers who need continual care.” Joe Clay – The Times
“It is the sort of television territory than can all too easily be exploitatively heavy on the heart strings, but this is a respectful and genuinely affecting film.” – The Sunday Times
For BBC1
Also in this genre
Stacey Dooley Investigates: Sex In Strange Places
School of Hard Tricks - Format
Farther And Sun, A Dyslexic Road Trip
School of Hard Tricks
The World’s Worst Place To Be Disabled?
Stacey Dooley Investigates: Mums Selling Their Kids For Sex
Prison, My Parents And Me
Stacey and the Lockdown Babies
The Beckham Feud - Truth & Lies
Living With My Supersized Pets
Life On The Psych Ward
Face The Consequences - Format
Britain’s Refugee Children
Sheridan Smith: Becoming Mum
Growing up Poor: Britain's Hidden Homeless Kids
Growing Up Poor: Britain's Breadline Kids
Dr Xand's Con or Cure - Format
Jasmine Harman’s Renovation in the Sun
The Knowledge: The World’s Toughest Taxi Test
National Trust: My Historic Home
Retreat: Meditations From A Monastery
Stacey Dooley: Face to Face with The Bounty Hunters
Stacey's Lockdown Heroes
Michael Palin In North Korea
Paul O'Grady's Little Heroes
Doom Scroll: Andrew Tate & The Dark Side of the Internet
Stacey Dooley: The Young And Homeless
Fake Homeless: Who's Begging On The Streets?
Deliveroo: How Do They Really Do It?
Stacey Dooley Investigates: Kids Selling Drugs Online
Bring Back the Bush: Where Did Our Pubic Hair Go?
Living with the Boss - Format
Born On The Breadline
Poundland: How Do They Really Do It?
The Titan Sub Disaster: Minute by Minute
Stacey Dooley Investigates: Spy Cam Sex Criminals
Hannah Spearritt: Me & Breast Implants
Ross Kemp: On the NHS Frontline
Stacey Dooley Investigates: Gypsy Kids In Crisis
Kashmir's Torture Trail
Heal Me In The Name Of Jesus
Britain's Child Drug Runners
Inside the Bruderhof
Prisoners' Wives: Visiting Hours
Stacey Dooley: On The Psych Ward
Our Soldiers: Return To Civvy Street
How To Be A Young Billionaire
Britain's America's Cup Challenge 4K
of
Format Info
Looking After Mum
The film follows unsung child heroes as they navigate the formative moments of their life alongside the emotional strain and anxiety of caring.
Series Duration: 1 x 59'
Resolution: HD
Genres: Human Interest