Charlotte Church and family open up in Charlotte Church: My Family & Me (w/t)

2 May 2019

Channel 4 is exploring the emotional complexities of family life, with an authored look at a U.K. celebrity’s relationship with their parents.  The 1x60’ special will focus on Charlotte Church and her family.  Their lives were transformed when she found fame aged just eleven, and they were forced to deal with the unexpected pressures of fame, wealth and tabloid scrutiny.

Charlotte Church: My Family & Me (w/t) will follow Charlotte, mum Maria and dad James, as they leave behind their daily routines to seclude themselves for five days in a remote, picturesque corner of the U.K. Against this stunning backdrop, and with only each other for company, they’ll confront the tensions that sudden fame created in their relationship, in a journey that will be emotional, but also redemptive.

Unprecedented access to the Churches will provide viewers with a warm, intimate portrait of a family sharing tears, laughter and uncomfortable home truths.  As they look back over the past twenty years, viewers too will be able to revisit Charlotte’s life story and incredible rise to fame, through archive footage and candid interviews from her and her parents.

Produced by Curious Films, the show’s executive producer is Dov Freedman.  It will be directed by Charlie Russell, the BAFTA-winning filmmaker behind Chris Packham: Asperger’s & Me and Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die.

Lee McMurray, Commissioning Editor, Factual Entertainment, Channel 4 said: “We’re delighted that Charlotte and her family have given Channel 4 the opportunity to create such a personal and revealing film.  Our relationship with our parents is one of the most important relationships in our lives, but can also be the most difficult.  This format explores this universal predicament with one of the country’s most recognisable and loved figures.”

Director Charlie Russell, from Curious Films, said: “Charlotte is one of the most open, honest, funny and smart individuals I’ve ever had the pleasure of filming with. We are thrilled this is our debut commission for Channel 4.”

Charlotte Church said: “My relationship with my parents is by turns hilarious, emotional and somewhat unusual – we’ve had a fascinating life together, but it’s not been without its challenges. There’s a lot of stuff we’ve never talked about – and the prospect of doing that is both terrifying and enthralling.”