Brand new Channel 4 documentary Britain’s Tourette’s Mystery: Scarlett Moffatt Investigates airs this Tuesday, and we now have our first look at the show thanks to an exclusive clip.
In the clip, Moffatt asks Holly Ann Rutherford, a Tik Tok creator with Tourette’s, whether it’s ok to laugh, to which she responds that it is, but that she prefers it if people laugh with her rather than at her.
Moffatt then asks whether social media likes and follows subconsciously make her feel like she needs to more content where she’s tic’ing, to which she says yes.
You can watch the full exclusive clip for RadioTimes.com right here now.
Also in the clip, Rutherford says she will accept paid promotions for her content but that the main reason for doing it is to help other people with Tourette’s.
She then exclaims “Oh look, it’s the Queen of the Jungle”, which Moffatt says is her favourite of Rutherford’s tics.
The full documentary sees Moffatt investigating the rise of Tourette’s in Britain, attempting to uncover the potential causes for this and to explain why it’s appearing out of the blue in young people
In a Q&A ahead of the documentary airing, Moffatt explained that she did it because when she was younger she also got an onset of tics.
She said: “When I started seeing all these articles and TikToks about loads of young girls who were around my age when I got it, getting sudden onset tics, I just felt like it was something I wanted to investigate and luckily the telly powers that be allowed that to happen.”
Speaking about the moment seen in the clip, Moffatt was asked what the funniest thing anyone said to her while filming the show.
She said: “I compare it to going to an intimate comedy show where the funniest parts are the bits that relate to you. We’re all big headed creatures really. I actually quite liked it when they took the mick out of me – I found that funny and I definitely got a thicker skin for it. But they all kept tic’ing that I was old! So now, I’m like am I old?”
Moffatt was also asked about her experiences meeting a psychiatrist and a neurologist who are experts in the field of Tourette’s, and what the most interesting thing they told her was.
She explained: “One of the things that I found absolutely fascinating was something Dr Chowdhury said. He said normally sudden onset tics is more prevalent in young boys but now, since the pandemic, we’re seeing it more in young girls, and one reason they think is that because young boys are frequently gaming which meant they were still busy, still socialising, still had a focus to get up in the morning and weren’t as stressed because they were having those interactions.”
On the prospect of filming more documenarties, Moffatt said there are “loads” she would want to do and that “the list is endless”.
She continued: “I really enjoyed making this one because it was close to my heart and I feel like when you can relate to people, they know that whenever you’re asking difficult questions, there is no malice in it and no pre-judgement because you’ve been there yourself.
“Later on in my career I’d like to tackle things that maybe haven’t affected me personally, but I think while I’m still becoming a newfound member of the Louis Theroux & Stacey Dooley club, I would like to focus on things I can relate to. All of this is a learning curve and making a documentary was much more difficult than I thought so I’ve still got some learning to do.”
Britain’s Tourette’s Mystery: Scarlett Moffatt Investigates airs Tuesday 19th July on Channel 4 at 10pm. Looking for more to watch? Check out our TV Guide.
