Two years ago, BBC1 showed a documentary, Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency. Kemp wanted to make the film following the suicide of his friend, the aim being to raise awareness of mental health problems among young people, and to encourage them to seek help.
The Herald’s review of the programme concluded: “Help is there, [Kemp] wanted viewers to know. You had to hope and pray he was right. Post-pandemic that help is going to be needed by many more.”
I would be delighted to say the caution had been misplaced. Unfortunately not, as you can see in his follow-up film, Roman Kemp: the Fight for Young Lives (BBC3, Wednesday, 9pm).
Since the original documentary, scores of people have contacted the radio and TV presenter seeking his advice.
“If young people are reaching out to someone like me for help it makes me think something is going very wrong,” he says. “Are these people actually not able to get proper support from the right places?”
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As he soon discovers, the demand for help far outstrips supply. Since 2019 the number of young people referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) has gone up 75%. Kemp sees a therapist privately once a week. He acknowledges that privilege, and the help he has had from supportive parents. In case the resemblance does not make it plain, Roman is the son of Martin Kemp (Spandau Ballet) and Shirlie Holliman (Pepsi and Shirley).
But what of those who can’t afford to go private? They have to rely on a patchwork of services that appear able to cope with an immediate crisis, but there is little support after that. It is left to charities and communities to plug the gaps where they can.
After a trip to the Commons to lobby MPs, Kemp notes shrewdly that while politicians were sympathetic, it always seemed to be someone else’s problem. His overall conclusion: everything comes down to money and where we as a society choose to spend it.
Kemp’s film has its frustrating moments. He would like to step back from doing so much, but at the same time says he is “determined to take on this new challenge” of improving services. While this might seem like he is making the same mistake all over again, you don’t doubt his sincerity.
There are many disturbing moments in this week’s The Met (BBC1, Tuesday, 9pm), the documentary series following London’s police at work. One in particular stands out.
A young woman flagged to the police as a “high-risk missing person” has been spotted on CCTV getting into a car. Later, another camera picks her up entering what looks like a shed or shipping container. A man follows her in, but only one of the two is seen coming out again.
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So begins a search to find 20-year-old Agnes Akom, a Hungarian national who came to London with her boyfriend in the hope of a better life. As one detective says, it is like she has “dropped off the planet”.
As a caption at the start makes clear, this fourth series of The Met was filmed over a 10-month period during which the force was (and still is) facing the biggest crisis in its history. Serving police officers found guilty of the most heinous crimes, the force as a whole accused of being institutionally racist and misogynist - the headlines could hardly be more horrifying.
Last week’s golden oldie pick was Hamish Macbeth (BBC4 and iPlayer). Apart from the novelty of seeing old faces again, it had not aged well. Making Out (BBC4, Wednesday, from 10pm; all series on iPlayer) might fare better, though there are some red flags early doors.
Debbie Horsfield’s 1980s-set drama about women factory workers in Manchester stars Margi Clarke, queen of the Scousers, leading a cast familiar from many a northern drama of the time. There’s also a ridiculously fresh-faced Keith Allen as the factory boss.
The tale starts with Jill (Melanie Kilburn), a mother of two going out to work for the first time, leaving her unemployed husband to look after the children and home. Welcome to Thatcher’s brave new Britain. The kids wave mum off as though it is her first day at school, and she is certainly in for an education of sorts, as is any viewer who was not around at the time.
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Making Out ran for three series and was considered edgy in its day. Even now it comes with a “contains adult humour” advisory. At times, though, it comes across as a training video for HR departments in what not to do at work. Creepy male supervisor putting an arm round Jill? He would be on a warning. The women’s outrageous sexual harassment of a male co-worker would not be looked on too kindly either.
See it for the spirited performances, the sometimes unintentional comedy, and a peek into a not too distant past.
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