Scarlett reveals Britain’s Tourette’s new mystery

From fears about hospitals being overwhelmed to long waiting lists due to appointments and treatments being delayed, Covid-19 put a lot of pressure on the NHS.

However, one health problem perhaps couldn’t have been predicted. As Britain’s Tourette’s Mystery: Scarlett Moffatt Investigates reveals, over the course of the pandemic, doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Guy’s and St Thomas’ have seen a significant rise in the number of teenagers presenting with Tourette’s syndrome or tic disorders.

Once, doctors would typically receive between four and six referrals a year relating to acute onsets in teenagers; now they can see that many in a week.

Three in four 13 to 19 year olds have reported that they have experienced mental health issues since the start of the pandemic, and it has been suggested that this could explain the rise in tics. But could there be any other explanations? Scarlett is on a mission to find out.

The presenter first found fame on Gogglebox, where her natural wit quickly made her a fan favourite. She then went from commenting on the biggest shows to starring in them when she took part in I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here in 2016, and ended up being crowned the Queen of the Jungle.

Since then, she’s landed jobs on Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and joined her family for the reality show The British Tribe Next Door. More recently, she put on her walking boots and explored her spiritual side in Pilgrimage: Road to the Scottish Islands.

However, this documentary is particularly close to Scarlett’s heart as she developed facial tics when she was 12 as result of Bell’s Palsy, which she lived with for two years. She’ll be reflecting on her own experiences as she travels around the country to meet some of the people who have recently been dealing with tics, as well as scientists grappling with this new phenomenon, a group of Tourette’s TikTok influencers, charity campaigners and the neurologists treating the influx of adolescents.

Scarlett will also be asking whether there is any precedent for a sudden rise in cases, and discovers there’s a controversial debate about the causes behind it, as not everyone is convinced that the pandemic is the only factor. She learns that some people think that social media may also have a part to play.

Whatever the answers though, Scarlett thinks it’s important that young people have access to as much help and information as possible, and hopes that her programme can be a part of that. She says: “I am so grateful to Channel 4, [production company] Firecracker and all of our incredible contributors for allowing us to focus a lens on the topic of Tourette’s and tics in teenagers. This show is something I personally feel incredibly passionate about as I suffered with facial tics when diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy as a child and wish there was this kind of information and education available back then as it’s something so many young people have to deal with.”