91Èȱ¬

Over the years, Joe Swash’s magnetic personality has endeared him to millions of TV viewers, but now he is delving into something more serious, and more personal.

This documentary follows Joe as he explores the stories of teens in care over the age of 16, the largest-growing cohort in both child protection and care.

His motivation to make this documentary is deeply personal. It’s an issue that is close to his and his family’s heart, as his mum, Kiffy, has been a foster carer for over 15 years.

Joe wants to spend time with teens across the UK who live in foster care, in residential children’s homes, and some who left at 18 and are trying to make it alone, to show what growing up as a teenager in care is really like.

His journey of discovery follows the long-awaited publication of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, which promises a ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the children’s social care system’. But can it really get to the root of the problems facing teens in care?

Through this experience, Joe also sees at first hand the work of foster carers and the army of frontline workers dedicated to helping teens in care, as he seeks to find out how some of the issues they encounter in the care system might be tackled better.