This ‘powerful’ film about Tourette’s is set to change lives

You may have heard of John Davidson. He’s a campaigner and activist who was awarded an MBE in 2019, and even had a documentary made about his life, titled John’s Not Mad, which was ranked in 2005 as one of the 50 Greatest Documentaries by the British public. But what is it that led John, now 54, to become such a prominent figure? A Tourette syndrome diagnosis at age 15.

Affecting around 1 in every 100 children, it is estimated that over 300,000 people in the UK have Tourette syndrome. Also known as Tourette’s, the condition causes you to make sudden, repetitive sounds or movements – including swearing, whistling and animal noises – known as tics. When John was growing up in 1980s Britain, the condition was entirely misunderstood.

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