Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
My Tourette’s talkshow has given sufferers a voice on the condition
Teenager hopes BBC 3 slot will raise awareness
HE’S made headlines around the world, his Facebook videos rack up huge views and now Lewis Nickell has landed his own TV show.
The East Belfast lad, who vlogs about living with Tourette’s Syndrome, will appear on BBC Three tonight with The Vamps and former Girls Aloud singer Nadine Coyle.
Lewis, who won a Daily Mirror Heroes of Youth Award last year, uses his Youtube channel to raise awareness about the neurological condition which has no cure.
The new one-off chat show, What Makes You Tic?, was filmed in Northern Ireland and London.
It also features his brother Stephen and girlfriend Megan embarking on a road-trip quest for star guest interviews to see if he can become the world’s first talkshow host with Tourette’s.
Lewis, 19, told the Mirror: “When I was on the Nolan Show it got me thinking. The producer at Stephen Nolan started talking to me about it and the ball has been rolling ever since to be honest.
“Doing the talk show I found it really exciting and a big step up from the social media work.
“It was a lot of work for the team to put together but was well worth the hard work and dedication.
“Thanks to The Vamps, Nadine Coyle and BBC Entertainment for giving me, a teenager with Tourette’s, the chance.
“I loved every minute and hope the special helps spread even more positive awareness.
“I’d be so happy if it went to series. I believe it can because there are questions I can ask the guest without even meaning to that others will never able to do.
“It’s a whole new part of entertainment and the awareness it would get out about Tourette’s would be incredible.
“There are so many celebrities I’d love to interview but if I had the chance to meet one of them I’d have to choose Eminem, the interview would just be complete TV gold!”
BBC commissioning editor Ruby Kuraishe said: “With a cult following on the web Lewis has proven he has what it takes to be a great presenter.
“Yes, he has a condition that makes him tic uncontrollably, swear lots, and say the word ‘caramel’ profusely, but once you get past that (which is surprisingly quite quickly), Lewis is simply a young kid with a dream and infectious charm.
“That is bound to disarm any willing celebrity who’s brave enough to take a fun detour from the promotional circuit. Of course, there are the necessary ‘plugs’, but Lewis’ interviews are anything but predictable and highly watchable.”
Chris Jones, of Nice One Productions, added: “Lewis has shown himself to be a fearless, funny and original new talent and we hope stars will love his refreshing interview style and reboot for the talk show.”
BBC COMMISSIONING EDITOR