Joe Swash is to front a BBC One documentary exploring foster care.
The TV presenter will host Joe Swash: Teens In Care which will see Joe spend time with young people who are currently living in foster or residential care, and those who have recently left.
Joe, who is making the doc with production company Firecracker Films, said: “I’m really thrilled to be making this documentary with the team at Firecracker for the BBC. Foster care is a subject really close to my heart as I grew up with foster siblings so it’s something I’m passionate about exploring.
“I’m really looking forward to meeting the young people in care and hearing their stories.”
Joe Swash: Teens In Care airs on Tuesday, 11 July 2023 at 9PM on BBC One and iPlayer.
The BBC share: “Joe’s mother is a foster carer and has fostered two children over the years. Joe wants to explore what growing up in care in Britain is really like, by hearing directly from those who have been brought up in the care system. And he will explore the work of foster carers and the army of front-line workers who are dedicated to helping teens in care, immersing himself and volunteering in activities where possible, showing how it’s the everyday people that can help make a difference.
“The documentary will pay particular focus to teens in care over the age of 16, who are the largest growing cohort in both child protection and care; the number of children aged 16 and over in care has increased by 37% in the last decade alone*.
“Joe’s journey of discovery coincides with the long-awaited publication earlier this year of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, which promises a ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the children’s social care system and provide children with loving, safe and stable families’.
“But can it really get to the root of the problems facing teens in care? How will the cost-of-living crisis impact the transformation that is required? And what action will result from that independent review? Using his personal experiences and the review as a springboard, this is exactly what Joe wants to find out, by talking to policy makers and exploring where the signs of optimism are.”
