The ex-Gogglebox star tells Rachael Davis about her new documentary – Channel 4’s Britain’s Tourette’s Thriller: Scarlett Moffatt Investigates.
For the reason that begin of the Covid-19 pandemic paediatricians and baby psychological well being practitioners have recorded a stark enhance within the prevalence of tic issues amongst youngsters and youngsters.
A few of those that have been already recognized with a tic dysfunction, resembling Tourette’s syndrome, observed a rise in tic signs throughout lockdown, however a thriller which has gripped docs is the marked enhance in sudden onset tics in youngsters who hadn’t beforehand skilled them – notably in teenage women.
In a brand new Channel 4 documentary, Britain’s Tourette’s Thriller: Scarlett Moffatt Investigates, the previous Gogglebox star travels across the nation to delve into the thriller, assembly a few of those that have been not too long ago recognized with the situation, scientists grappling with the brand new phenomenon, and a gaggle of Tourette’s TikTok influencers.
This can be a moderately private journey for 31-year-old Moffatt to go on as she developed facial tics herself when she was 12 years previous. For 2 years she skilled tics that have been a results of affected by Bell’s palsy, a time she describes as “actually scary”.
“It was truly fairly a scary time, as a result of I bear in mind not feeling in charge of my very own physique, as a result of I had Bell’s palsy as nicely,” Moffatt says.
“Once I was in school and I had the facial tics, I’d try to suppress them so I didn’t stand out, which is principally like holding a hiccup in. As quickly as I’d get house they’d simply all come out.
“It was simply actually scary. It’s scary as a youngster anyway, as a result of your physique’s altering, and you’ve got all these hormones, however if you really feel such as you’re not in charge of them, I simply bear in mind feeling like: ‘God, is that this ever gonna cease? Am I ever gonna be in management once more?’”
One physician Moffatt speaks to for the documentary tells her that, ordinarily, boys are 4 instances extra prone to be recognized with conventional Tourette’s.
Nevertheless, he and his colleagues have seen a rise in younger women presenting with tic issues, suggesting this will likely have been attributable to loneliness, isolation and nervousness through the Covid lockdowns.
“Throughout lockdown, numerous younger boys have been gaming, in order that they have been nonetheless socialising, nonetheless had a function to rise up and nonetheless had a interest,” Moffatt explains.
“Whereas younger women are typically extra social butterflies, after which they, abruptly, have been confined in the home.
“Throughout lockdown, rightly so, everybody’s consideration was on the susceptible and aged, as a result of at the moment that was who wanted our help. However I feel in doing that, the youngsters and youngsters type of have been left to their very own units, and I really feel like, truly, we didn’t realise the influence that it will have on younger folks.”
This starvation for social interplay led many younger folks to show to social media the place, notably on TikTok, Tourette’s influencers have been surging in reputation.
Whereas some argue that watching content material referring to tics might make the dysfunction worse in some victims, Moffatt says that she believes it “can solely be a very good factor”.
“The large factor after I had tics was that I felt alone, I didn’t actually know some other younger women with it,” she says.
“However I feel I’m fortunate that I’ve bought a extremely good help community, I at all times have, however I’m conscious that different children haven’t bought that.
“Once I’ve been talking to all of the influencers on this documentary, how they’re serving to, they’re getting a little bit of a tough time on the minute, specialists saying they don’t know whether or not they’re truly including to the issue.
“However I feel, as a child, if I didn’t have that help community there wouldn’t have been anybody. I feel it could possibly solely be a very good factor that extra individuals are popping out and speaking about their experiences so that individuals don’t really feel alone.”
By talking to those that expertise tics, Moffatt solutions questions that many individuals have in regards to the dysfunction however don’t typically really feel they will ask.
For instance, she asks TikTok creator Holly Ann Rutherford, who goes by @hollyannmaria, whether or not it’s okay to snort at a number of the humorous vocal tics. She says sure, however solely – crucially – so long as she’s being laughed with, not at.
Nevertheless, the programme additionally reveals a darker, scarier aspect to ticcing. Lots of the interviewees communicate of ‘tic assaults’ – bouts of extreme, non-suppressible, disabling tics which might final from a couple of minutes to a number of hours – and viewers see a very distressing second the place TikTok star Ryan Stevens, often known as @tourettes_lad_official on the platform, suffers a painful tic assault which leaves him convulsing on the bottom.
He describes the feeling as like being struck with a cattle prod within the again, and candidly discusses the acute bodily ache that comes with a critical tic assault.
“I watched quite a lot of documentaries and reveals that confirmed tics and Tourette’s earlier than I began doing the documentary, and I’d by no means seen something like that earlier than,” Moffatt says.
“Being there first-hand, it was terrible. All of us cried after. Ryan’s was actually, actually dangerous that day, prefer it was nearly as if his physique wasn’t his personal.
“That’s the factor that I need to get throughout is that I feel the media has portrayed tics and Tourette’s to be type of a humorous dysfunction – and sure, at instances, it may be entertaining – however it’s additionally actually, actually critical and impacts folks’s relationships and lives and even getting a job.
“Seeing somebody in ache like that – it was terrible.”
Regardless of the difficult material, Moffatt says she liked making the documentary, assembly folks and telling their tales – and now she’s hungry for extra.
“Genuinely, regardless that it’s such a tough subject, we had such a very good time doing it. And regardless that there have been moments of disappointment and tears, we did snort for almost all of it, we did have such a very good time.
“I actually do need to make extra – I really feel like I’m on the proper stage. It’s at all times been on my bucket record to do one, as a result of I’m such a lover of documentaries, and it feels just like the pure development to do this.
“I simply discover it actually fascinating. And I hope that different folks watch it and discover it equally as fascinating.”
Britain’s Tourette’s Thriller: Scarlett Moffatt Investigates is on Channel 4 at 10pm on Tuesday, July 19.
