Strictly star questions if they should start a family in deeply personal series
Ellie Simmonds is set to take ITV viewers on a personal journey as she explores the decision on whether or not to start a family. With the potential for her children to share her disability, the 30-year-old is questioning if she should have them at all.
Within the documentary, Ellie will be meeting with a range of experts in the medical field, who are helping families currently going through this journey themselves, from doctors, geneticists, cardiologists, midwives and counsellors.
A description for the upcoming documentary reads: “In this revealing documentary, Ellie fearlessly confronts the often difficult and emotionally fraught decisions she would, and expectant parents do, face when they are told that their child may be born with a disability. Asking the questions to help future parents navigate this very emotional journey and what they would do if faced with these life-changing decisions."
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However, at the heart of the film will be Ellie’s personal journey as she asks if she should have children and what they’d look like. For the athlete, it’s not just about what society thinks, but it’ll focus on her own questions, fears, dreams and her belief in equality for Disabled people.
Speaking about the upcoming documentary, Ellie detailed how personal this journey is for her. She said: “Now having the understanding of what my birth mother and so many others experienced 30 years ago when it came to disability and pregnancy, I want to see how things have changed for parents today.
“I also want to challenge some of the perceptions that exist today about children born with disabilities. It’s a deeply personal subject to me, and I’m just so grateful to all those who have let me embark on what are deeply personal and emotional journeys of their own.”
Described as being a ‘raw and intimate’ documentary, the film will tackle a subject which is very rarely seen on screen. Viewers will get to see Ellie explore the choices around prenatal testing, along with the implications of those decisions for the parents.
A description reads: “Through carefully obtained access to one of the UK's leading Foetal Medicine Units, Ellie gains unprecedented access to families who are navigating the often challenging decision-making process that comes with a prenatal diagnosis of disability.
“She will explore the possible assumption that a life as a Disabled person is one of limitation and question whether the representation of people like herself in the public eye has brought down barriers.”
Controller of Factual ITV Jo Clinton detailed the documentary will be insightful and deeply personal for Ellie. They said: “Packed with emotional human narratives and layered with potent dilemmas, this is a film that will shed new light on a significant story of our times with the power both to move us and make us all think: ‘What do we feel? What would we do?’”
Although this isn’t the first time Ellie has let the cameras delve into her personal life, as she had BAFTA-winning success with her documentary Ellie Simmonds: Finding My Secret Family.
The documentary, which aired last year, followed Ellie trying to find her birth mother after she was put up for adoption ten days after she was born. During the film, the Strictly star questioned whether the decision for her adoption came after her parents were told she had a disability.
It is not yet known when Ellie Simmonds: Should I have Children? Will air on ITV and ITVX.
