PICK OF TODAY’S TV
JOE WICKS: FACING MY CHILDHOOD, 9PM, BBC1
‘IT COMES in waves. Some days, I really love this . . . other days, I just want it to stop.’ Body Coach Joe Wicks was a lockdown saviour for the nation, his fitness videos getting the country moving each morning. The social media star and bestselling cookbook author was an unfailingly cheerful and confident presence, providing a welcome dose of positivity during some of the darkest days of the pandemic. His efforts earned him an MBE and an entry in the Guinness Book
Of Records for the most viewers for a fitness workout live stream. Here, though we see a much more vulnerable side to Joe as he reflects on how, like many parents — and his own — he struggles with his mental health. Joe’s childhood was happy, but also marked by ‘absences’ and ‘chaos’. His mum had extreme OCD, while his dad struggled with drug addiction. Now, he wants to understand what impact parents’ issues have on their children, by confronting his own upbringing. As the nation’s personal trainer, he helped us to get our bodies fit; now, he wants to do the same for our minds in this brave, frank and moving film.