Can you tell me what the documentary is about?

"In 2019 the Government commissioned the Independent Review of Children's Social Care in England. The report was published last year and according to it the children’s social care in England is at breaking point.

"Following this review the documentary looks at the care system with a focus on teenagers over the age of 16 who are at different stages of their lives in care.

"The idea is to show what growing up as a teenager in care is like and highlight the challenges these teenagers face, where the system is going wrong and where it could be made better. And to raise awareness that the system is failing these young people and something needs to happen and the system needs to change. As a society we owe it to them."

Why did you want to get involved and why do you think the care system is such an important subject to bring to viewers’ attention?

"This is a subject very closed to my heart. My mum’s been fostering for about 15 years. We’ve been involved with the care system as a family and we’ve seen the good and bad sides. It’s been a big part of my life growing up. Daniel, one of the kids my mum fostered, is at an age when young people leave the care system and my mum has just helped him get into University. He’s thriving but I'm aware that not all teenagers in care have the same positive experience and opportunities. So this documentary felt like a perfect fit. I don’t know the ins and outs of the system and I think it’s important to shine a light on it and for viewers to find out more. These youngsters go through so much while in the system and from what I saw, don’t always get support.

"Also, I lost my dad when I was young. I always used to worry about my mum passing away and becoming an orphan. It was a real anxiety for me growing up. With this in mind I still can’t begin to imagine how these kids must feel and what they go through. I thought it was important to give them a voice."

In the documentary you meet a number of teens at different stages of their lives in the system. From making this documentary what surprised you the most about their different experiences?

"In the documentary I meet a group of young people who have all grown up in the care system. And the majority of them have not had a positive experience. They have not been supported greatly, they don’t feel they’ve been loved and they feel like they are slightly neglected. We did meet one teenager who has had a positive outcome and he's doing amazing. He's found a permanent placement, an amazing family. He's settled. He feels comfortable. There's no anxiety there.

"It was night and day between seeing him and seeing some of the other kids that haven't had that luck. And it just seems a little bit unfair that not everyone gets the same opportunity. I want to know why they don't get the same opportunity and why so many of these youngsters slip through the net. The one thing that they kept saying every time I met them was that there is no support network around them.

"The independent review says that every person in the care system should have at least two people that care for them, that they love.

"And you know, these kids haven't got that, and that really hit home with me. I'm so lucky that I have so many people I can fall back on, friends and family. I couldn't imagine a life without anybody. And unfortunately, some of these kids have been moved from one side of the country to the other, and they've got no friends, no family, and it's such a sad, isolated life. There must be a better way we can get these kids ready for adulthood."

In your opinion, what do you think these kids need the most?

"Whenever you can give some sort of consistency in a young person's life - whether it’s a nan, an auntie, or a sister who stays in contact with them while in care - it really makes a big difference. In the documentary I met two sisters who got separated when they were quite small, they went to two different families. That was their only connection to their old life and it was taken away from them. I think the more we can keep, in any way possible, any sort of consistency and relationships in these people’s lives the better because these kids will go through the care system just craving to be loved.

"And then in adulthood some of them unfortunately are going to meet people that are going to offer them unhealthy love and unhealthy relationships. But they just crave anything, any sort of feeling of love.

"I feel that that there needs to be a much better way of organizing and getting these kids ready for adulthood."

What did you struggle with the most when making the documentary?

"I was moved by the personal stories of the young people I met. I found it difficult leaving them in that situation they’re in, and then coming home to my family, and having a laugh and feeling the love and the warmth of my house. I felt really guilty about that. I've been taking it for granted for so long, and they haven't had it at all.

"Also because of my kids, I really struggled with it. I had to stop myself from putting my children in their situation because that was tearing me apart as well. But I’d definitely argue that anyone who met these teenagers would come away and feel guilty and feel like they've let them down in some way. I just felt like I wanted to do more for them. There’s not much I can do apart from shining a light on the situation and that was a real struggle for me. I just wanted to take them all home with me, I just wanted to parent them but I couldn’t which was sad."

You’ve met the current Children’s Minister who explained the plan to reform the system. What did you make of that encounter?

"The independent review was commissioned by the Government because the system needed to be looked at. It’s taken years for the review to be made because it's really in depth. And they spoke to thousands and thousands young people in the system to find out their opinions. And what it found is that the care system is absolutely falling apart at the seams, and it's been falling apart for the last 10 to 15 years. And you know, as well as highlighting where the system is going wrong and where it needs to be fixed, it also highlights how we can fix it and the way we should go about doing that. Unfortunately it involves money. So whenever something involves money you’ve always got a fight in your hands. The independent review suggests that if you put in 2.6 billion pound worth of investment now it will completely transform the care system and that will save us billions down the line. The Government has looked at it and said they’re putting in 200 million which I thought it was way under what the independent review had asked for. I just wonder what’s the point of an independent review if you’re not going to do what it recommends? The Government are starting a range of initiatives but unfortunately the money is not going to be available. Basically I feel it causes a false economy because what we don’t pay for now, we’re going to pay for down the line and pay a lot more for it. It is frustrating. I do wish that everyone could just bang their heads together and realise this is an issue that needs to be looked at quickly and it is a very important cause."

Why people should be watching the documentary and what do you hope viewers will take away from it?

"This documentary is hard hitting, it's reality, it’s what’s happening right now in society. We need to make a change. We need to do it now. I don’t think everyone realises how bad and how much disarray the care system is in. Hopefully it’ll open people’s eyes to the problem and they’ll watch it and come away with the same feeling I got, that we need to do something. I really hope that people who watch it have an opinion and they voice it, and together we can try and make a change and make things move a bit faster."

Did you learn anything about yourself during the process of making the documentary?

"I’ve learned I’m very lucky. All those times that I think things are not fair, this documentary has shown me how lucky I am, how lucky my kids are and not everyone is as lucky. I think sometimes I take things for granted and meeting these teenagers in the system, it just hit me hard, that there are young people out there really struggling.

"Stacey and I, when the kids are old enough and they’ll be semi-independent, will sit down and think about fostering. We love kids and Stacey is on the same sort of page as me. I’m not saying that it’s something we’ll definitely do but if circumstances are right I think it’s something we will definitely think about doing."

Has filming this documentary opened up a desire to explore and learn more about this particular topic?

"This documentary focuses on teens in care over the age of 16. There are so many different elements and sides to the system that we haven’t explored. And I’d love to maybe go back and explore more of the care system and a have a catch up with these young people I met to find out how they are doing. For some of them this will be their first year of independent living as an adult."