Joe Swash, known for his roles on EastEnders and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, is turning his attention to a serious issue in a new BBC One documentary. 'Joe Swash: Teens in Care' airs on Tuesday 11 July at 9pm and follows the presenter as he investigates the experiences of teenagers in the UK care system.
The documentary focuses on teens aged 16 and over, the fastest-growing group in care, with numbers rising 37% in the last decade. Swash's motivation is personal: his mother Kiffy has been a foster carer for over 15 years, and he and his wife Stacey are considering fostering themselves. He has witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by a young person his mother fostered who recently turned 18.
Swash spends time with teens in foster care and residential homes, meeting experts and policymakers to explore why the system is failing many young people. He highlights the 2022 Independent Review of Children's Social Care, which described the system as at 'breaking point'. The documentary aims to show the reality of growing up in care and calls for change.
Swash said: 'I thought it was important to give them a voice. These youngsters go through so much and don't always get support. As a society we owe it to them.' He also drew on his own experience of losing his father young, saying he cannot imagine what children in care endure.
