Our Family And Autism: Viewers 'Can't Stop Crying' At Christine McGuinness's Reaction To Diagnosis

Viewers have heaped praised upon Paddy and Christine McGuinness for their emotional documentary about autism.

The TV presenter and his wife released the programme, Paddy and Christine McGuinness: Our Family and Autism, which gave an honest insight into their experience of having three neurodiverse children: eight-year-old twins Leo and Penelope, and five-year-old Felicity.

The documentary also saw the pair trying to gain a greater understanding into the condition, speaking to other parents who have neurodiverse children, others who are on the autism spectrum and experts who could help provide insight.

The one-off documentary also saw Christine diagnosed with autism, which left her blindsided.

Alamy)

After she received the news, the Real Housewives star said she had “faked a whole life” – a statement that left viewers at home feeling emotional, taking to Twitter to share their thoughts.

“'I faked a whole life.’ Makes me so sad to hear this,” one person wrote. “This honesty is wonderful and sad.”

“The raw emotion is powerful to see,” a second person said. “I love seeing Paddy and Christine being so open about their thoughts. Everyone is at different stages of their journey.”

Twitter)

“Seeing Christine struggle with her emotions there hits so close to home, it's been 12 years since I was diagnosed and I still sometimes think ‘is it just me being difficult here?!’” a third person added.

“So many women like Christine, undiagnosed autistic,” said a fourth. “Super maskers, totally under the radar.”

Others found themselves in tears watching the documentary.

Twitter)

“An hour of sitting there nodding my head, laughing (and crying) and repeatedly pausing the telly to make a statement that started ‘remember when,’” said a viewer. “As expected, superb, no drama, just a Dad trying to understand a bit more. Absolutely brilliant.”

“In tears already with this program. So much of what they are saying hits home,” said a second.

Twitter)

“Beautiful show that had my family in tears,” a third wrote. “We have autism in our family and recognised a lot of your struggles. Thank you for shining a light on a misunderstood topic. Take care and much love to your family.”

And a fourth agreed: “Amazing programme for BBC on autism and living with autism.. Had a few tears thinking about the things we've been through and going with our daughter... I wouldn't change her for the world, but I'd change the world for her.”

Paddy and Christine McGuinness: Our Family and Autism is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Topics: TV And Film, News, Parenting

Kimberley Bond

Kim is a journalist at Tyla, and has previously worked at the Evening Standard, Radio Times as well as several national newspapers. A showbiz obsessive and a television fanatic, Kim is particularly interested in celebrity gossip, A-list events and the latest releases on either the big or small screen. Contact her at [email protected]

@0xKimberley