A powerful, new television programme on eating disorders entitled Anorexia, My Family & Me will air tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and RT Player.
The compelling documentary is narrated by Angela Scanlon, who herself has overcome the challenges of an eating disorder. Produced by the team behind the sensitive and deeply moving Patrick: A Young Traveller Lost, this documentary delves into the lives of Irish families grappling with the profound effects of anorexia.
With cases of eating disorders in Ireland on the rise this urgent documentary contains unprecedented access to unfolding stories, presenting the raw and emotional experiences of families across the country. We meet 16-year-old Josh, 42-year-old dad of four Sean, 36-year-old Amanda and their families who offer a personal look at the realities of living with this most fatal of mental health conditions.
We meet a Wicklow based mum Jenny fighting tirelessly to secure treatment for her 16-year-old son, Josh, who is consistently losing weight as he battles the devastating grip of anorexia.
Speaking about his eating disorder Josh explains, It's just very dangerous. Everything in your body that makes it tick could start to drop. And if some of them drop too low, it's very big, fatal risks that can come with it. I'm feeling pretty scared and disappointed in myself because I feel like I was the one who let this happen.
During the course of the documentary viewers will see Josh hospitalized for 67 days before he is discharged to the family home. His mum Jenny says: No amount of almost begging at that stage to get Josh to eat was working and I couldn't get in there, you know, get into whatever was starting to build up around Josh. I couldn't get in. I never thought that anorexia would come into our home. I had no idea what was going to happen.
Josh describes his hospital stay, I needed to go into the hospital to try and just help with getting myself back into a healthier place. Physically, I probably wouldn't have lasted too much longer. In one day, I would probably have collapsed seven times. I would have massive gaps in my memory and I would have like, no ability to move. Sometimes, like, I believe that it's good to try and eat to get better, but there's still a part of me that's being dragged down like, no, it's not. And so I do still feel very conflicted and being pulled at both ends to try to eat or not.
Josh's mum Jenny articulates her worries for Josh and his two sisters: There's a definite feeling that you're headed to battle most days. None of this is sustainable. Like, we have no idea what this malnutrition has done to Josh's brain. I worry that the girls are so deeply affected by this, that it could result in one of them getting an eating disorder, both of them getting an eating disorder. Mental health services are so stretched that they just can't help every child. It's so difficult to get into the service because there's so many children who are trying to get in. Had Josh gotten into the service sooner, would we be here? I don't know.
Busting commonly held misconceptions around those who suffer from the condition we meet 42-year-old father of four Sean from Swords has battled anorexia for over a decade. His struggle with the disorder, including an addiction to running, nearly consumed him before he found the lifesaving help he desperately needed. We follow his tentative steps in his recovery journey.
Sean says, I don't remember when I could last wear my wedding ring on my wedding finger. Over the years, it became so loose that it would fall off. It's closure in a way that I'm going to wear this wedding ring. It's another big step for me in recovery. Even since I've started recovery and I know I do look better and I have put on weight, people still look at you and think, oh, he's great. Look, he's doing well, you're doing well, but they don't know what's going on inside your head.
Sean explains how he became addicted to running, I could have been out any night running and drop dead. I was just completely gone. Walking upstairs was tough. Very light headed all the time. Memory gone. In so much hunger pain. You run more. You want to be nothing. You want to just be as thin. It's because you just want to disappear. Because you don't believe that you are worthy.
We also follow 36-year-old Amanda and her mother Doreen. Suffering with the condition for over a decade, we are on Amanda's shoulder as she lives with the constant debilitating daily reality of anorexia. Her condition is so entrenched that she is often on the verge of hospitalisation, offering a stark reminder of the life-threatening nature of the disorder.
Amanda admits, Doctors have told me that I'm going to die if this continues.
In one scene viewers watch Amanda struggle to drink a food supplement. She says, Just my head, just like. Even though it's like small looks. Only small. you feel kind of guilty for having it? Because your head is telling you that you're already fat and you don't need it. You don't need extra calories and you don't. So yeah, just an argument in my head all time.
Amanda's mother Doreen worries about her collapsing in her bedroom I look at her sometimes I think she doesn't look well, but then I don't open my mouth to her. If I say anything she'll get annoyed. You know she'd (say), there's nothing wrong with me. What do you do from there? You know. Like it is sad. Don't get me wrong. I'd be brokenhearted over her. I just want her to get better. I don't want to get upset because I don't want to upset her. but that's just the way it is. Whatever happened to her I want it to go away and give who she was back to us.
Amanda recounts a hospi
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
18/08/2026
SMT will provide race technology for FOX Sports' coverage of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on August 23, when the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races ...
18/08/2026
The live, YouTube-native roundtables combine fan voices, credentialed reporters,...
18/08/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/08/2026
The industry legend sounds off on replacing the Heat's iconic Medusa score...
18/08/2026
William F. Rasmussen, the sports fan-turned broadcaster and entrepreneur whose out-of-the-box idea of a 24-hour cable sports network, ESPN, changed forever the ...
18/08/2026
DAZN Group has completed its acquisition of ViewLift, a provider of streaming and digital solutions for sports content owners. The acquisition was first announc...
18/08/2026
The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has added SI TV, Sports Illustrated's 24/7 streaming channel, as a broadcast partner for the remain...
18/08/2026
The Esports Foundation has announced that the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC), originally scheduled for November 2026 in Riyadh, will be postponed to Novemb...
18/08/2026
Diversified has announced a new Global Managed Services Practice, consolidating the company's managed services capabilities into one organization. Rob Mello...
18/08/2026
Appear has completed a proof of concept with Thoroughbred Racing Productions (TRP), demonstrating multi-camera remote live production over bonded 5G cellular an...
A powerful, new television programme on eating disorders entitled Anorexia, My Family & Me will air tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and RT Player.
