He has interviewed patients on the psych ward, entered war zones and investigated everything from drug cartels and sex crimes to domestic violence, terrorism and murder; however, Stacey Dooley remains very focused.
Although the 34-year-old documentary filmmaker admits to having suffered from anxiety as a teenager, today she reflects: βAs an adult, my life is much more stressful, much more chaotic, and one would think that I would be more of an anxious person, but in reality, for For whatever reason, I’m so thankful that I’m pretty focused right now.”
This could be due in part to her idyllic home life with her partner Kevin Clifton, with whom she won the Strictly glitterball in 2018. She moved house over a year ago and judging by her Instagram posts to her 996k followers, she loves it. how your home is transforming.
“It’s my first house,” she says excitedly. βI have always lived in flats. I feel very old with my dishwasher and my floors. Isolation is down and we are getting there. I love being at home, it is my favorite place.β
It is this unfiltered, relatable personality that has given him a real connection with a new generation of viewers. In addition to posting updates on her new flat and decor, she’s also been chatting excitedly about her new book: Are You Really Okay? β Which ties into her documentaries On The Psych Ward and opens up the conversation about mental health.
“I felt this was timely and could be beneficial,” he says of the book, which follows the people he met at London’s Springfield Hospital in 2019 and 2020 for the making of two documentaries, and explores a range of topics, from TOC until publication. -natal depression, gambling addiction and eating disorders. She will embark on a regional book tour to discuss her findings as well.
After days of hearing harrowing stories, it wasn’t always easy to switch off. He remembers being in an Indian restaurant with Clifton after spending a day filming with Kyle, a patient who seemed so defeated he couldn’t get him out of his mind.
“It was such a juxtaposition that I was in this semi-posh restaurant, there was laughter and applause and people were kind of goofy, and I just remember thinking, ‘All those people are still in the hospital in a really bad way and Kyle probably sat there quietly.’ .Sometimes I feel like this is a really different place than the one I’ve just been to.”
She says she’s seen crews fall apart while filming disturbing stories, and she herself has been offered therapy several times but hasn’t accepted it, although she says she wouldn’t turn it down if she felt she needed help.
βI just never felt like it would be beneficial to me. I haven’t had any periods where I felt like I couldn’t cope and needed professional help, but I certainly wouldn’t be scared if I was struggling, and I’d be open about it and quite honest in the hope that other people will go if it helps them.”
She is able to get back to her life away from the camera and Clifton is incredibly supportive, she agrees.
βKev is amazing. I feel very lucky to have Kev as my wingman. He is very interested and interesting. If I’m at work and I call him and it’s silly, we’ll have a little report and he’s very patient. You need that support network, don’t you?
His ways of relaxing are very boring, he says frankly. βI mean I’m a hedonistic rock and roll star, but I’m happiest at home with Kev and my friends, having cups of tea, watching Ted Lasso or listening to a playlist. It is very discreet.
βIt is very important to allow escapism,β he continues. βYou work really hard when you’re at work and you give it your all, but then you go home and you have to put on music and dance in the kitchen and order takeout and see your girls. Joy is really important and it gives you balance.β
She hasn’t had time to dance anymore since she and Clifton won Strictly in 2018, but notes: βKev bought me Latin shoes for Christmas and we’re going to dance at Blackpool Tower. Such a lovely gift. I miss dancing. Strictly was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done. It was total escapism and good for the soul.β
They have no plans to get married, she reveals. βPeople ask me this in every interview I do. I’m not desperate to get married, but if I am, you’ll be the first to know. of course, [marriage] It works for some people, but it’s not something I need.”
Dooley has made no secret of the fact that she would like to have children. “I’ve been very open about yes, I would love to have a family one day, but there’s no rush, there’s no pressure.”
Raised by her mother, Diane, Dooley’s father was never a part of her life as he left home when she was two years old. Diane was resilient, working in pubs and cleaning houses and managed to get council housing. She later married Dooley’s stepfather, Norman Niblock.
At 19, Dooley was working at Luton airport duty-free when her mother handed her a brochure she had been given by a television production company, looking for fashion-obsessed youth to take to India to witness the appalling conditions of the sweat. stores
It culminated in the BBC3 documentary Blood, Sweat And T-Shirts, catapulting her into a television career despite the fact that she had no journalistic training.
I just finished the intro to @StaceyDooley’s book. I remember seeing #blood, sweat and t-shirts about @bbctres years ago, it’s crazy to think that this is how his career began, right in the thick of it. A decade later, I’ve seen all the documentaries and now I’m reading her book.
β π π π₯ π (@imbethwhittaker) February 19, 2018
His natural empathetic and emotional reaction to what he saw soon attracted a younger fan base, people who would never have dreamed of watching Panorama.
In those early days, Dooley received much flak from critics, who criticized his interviewing style and the fact that he had no journalistic training. Now, she’s certainly having the last laugh, as she’s won awards and an MBE for streaming services.
βI have proven myself now. These are conversations we had maybe a decade ago. My work speaks for itself. It does consistently well on iPlayer, I’ve won several awards. I’m targeting a demographic that doesn’t watch more traditional documentaries,β he says.
βI feel less upset about what people say about me now. I mean, I’ve been doing it for 15 years. I’ve been on location since I was 20 years old and I’m turning 35 in March.”
The criticism he received both in the press and on social media hurt him in the early days, he admits. βWhen you’re 20 and you have a 40-year-old kid ripping you to pieces, of course you’re thinking, ‘God!’ β especially when much of what is written about you is inaccurate. You can’t believe that people will post things that aren’t true, but as you get older you realize that happens all the time.
“But as long as you know how you behave and what’s going on, that’s all you can do.”
You want to do shows that interest you, whether it’s hard-hitting documentaries, Strictly, the light-hearted panel show This Is My House, or Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star.
This year will feature a second BBC Two series of DNA Family Secrets, featuring a documentary on the 2020 murder of Bibaa sisters Henry and Nicole Smallman, and the aftermath and trials of the killer and the two Met officers who shared photographs of the bodies of the victims.
βI don’t listen to the news 24 hours a day and I’m not religiously reading every night. I think it’s okay to be multidimensional and multifaceted and have different interests, whether they’re highbrow or highbrow,β says Dooley.
βI never want to say, ‘I’m just going to do this,’ or ‘I’m just going to do that.’ I love making documentaries, but I also loved making Strictly.”
Are you really okay? Understanding Britain’s Mental Health Emergency by Stacey Dooley is published by BBC Books on February 3, priced at Β£16.99 (β¬20.36). For tour dates, see fane.co.uk/stacey-dooley
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