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The Mum Who Got Tourette’s leaves viewers divided

Some felt it was heartwarming and funny, others weren't so sure

The Mum Who Got Tourette’s aired on Channel 4 last night and it has left viewers divided.

The documentary followed mum-of-three Elizabeth and her clan, who call themselves a very normal family.

Except for the fact that three years ago, shortly after turning 40, Elizabeth developed Tourette’s “out of the blue”.

One in 100 people in the UK live with the condition, which causes tics that can sometimes be offensive.

TOURETTE'S MUM (W/T)
The Mum Who Got Tourette’s was hailed an inspiration by some (Credit: Channel 4)

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The Mum Who Got Tourette’s and her ‘normal’ family

The documentary followed the family over the course of a summer and showed how Elizabeth and her kids Eloise, Robert and Florence, and husband Simeon cope with her condition.

Elizabeth insists they are just a normal family, except that she has Tourette’s, but she does concede it can make life difficult.

Simeon told how he laughs at her tics because he finds that’s the best way to deal with it.

Elizabeth Hall and her son Robert both have Tourette's (Credit: Channel 4)
Robert also has Tourette’s (Credit: Channel 4)

The couple’s son, Robert, also has Tourette’s and it was arguably his struggle that affected viewers the most deeply.

During the course of the documentary, he found out his GCSE results and people watching were overwhelmed by his success.

An inspiration

Writing on Twitter about how much they loved this family, there were even calls for them to have a complete series of their own.

Not convinced

However they were some viewers who were sceptical about Elizabeth’s condition.

They strangely accused her of faking her symptoms.

With most viewers won over, though, Elizabeth concluded the documentary by saying: “If I could tell anybody facing a diagnosis of Tourette’s it would absolutely be: accept it, learn to live with it, make friends with it because it’s not going anywhere.

“At the end of the day it’s just Tourette’s and it’s not going to kill you.”

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Carena Crawford
Associate Editor (Soaps)