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Looking After Mum

Duration: 1 x 59'

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This 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.

For BBC1

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