How to Be Male and Happy: BBC Three joins major mental health season
David Farnor | On 24, Jan 2017
BBC Three will examine how to be male and happy this year, as part of the broadcaster’s major new season dedicated to mental health.
The Beeb will host a season of films on mental health, across TV, Radio and online, with comedian Jack Rooke fronting BBC Three’s documentary series.
The 23-year-old found success through his cathartic, award winning stand up show Good Grief, which draws upon his experiences of losing his dad to cancer at the age of 15. Some years after, his best friend Olly took his own life after battling depression.
The three-part series is Jack’s mission to explore male identity, mental health and body image as he hangs out with men of different ages who have found their own ways of managing what life has thrown at them.
Jack’s playful knack for addressing sensitive subjects will be deployed on friends, family and young men – all of whom have stories to tell. From immersing himself in cold-water swimming to facing his inner demons as he bares all in a life-drawing class and dancing outside Pentonville Prison dressed up as his drag alter-ego, Amber Dextrous, he strives to prove he can be anyone, anywhere, all in the pursuit of happiness.
The documentary is Executive Produced by Matt Ralph and Nasfim Haque. It was commissioned by Damian Kavanagh, Controller, BBC Three. It will be broadcast alongside other TV specials, including a two-part programme on BBC One following a group of 10 runners affected by mental health issues, as they prepare to run the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon, and a Horizon Special on BBC Two looking at schizophrenia and advancements in the treatment of psychoses.
Charlotte Moore, Director of Content, says: “One in four of us experience mental health problems in any given year and yet people with mental health issues still feel isolated and unable to talk about them. I hope this season of thought provoking programmes across the BBC will contribute to an important national conversation, challenge discrimination and tackle the stigma that continues to surround mental health.”