Wildlife presenter Chris Packham was seen holding back tears during the debut episode of his new BBC Two documentary, Inside Our Autistic Minds.
In the show – which aired its first episode last night (14 February) – Packham, 61, helps a group of people on the autism spectrum to create short films that reveal to their family and friends what is really going on inside their minds.
Last night’s episode saw Packham, who is autistic himself, meeting Murray Bruce, the son of radio veteran Ken Bruce.
Murray had no form of communication until he was nine years old. He is now 20 and can communicate by typing his words on a tablet.
In the programme, Murray writes Packham an email, saying: “I was alone in my world of deep and troubled pining for a person to hear me. I would wonder if that day would ever come.
“I was frustrated and pining for acknowledgement. I had thoughts and opinions and worries and no one could hear me.”
Packham was seen wiping away tears after reading it, saying: “I mean, frankly, it’s enough to bring a tear to your eye, isn’t it? I don’t know whether it’s because I have some form of affinity for Murray but I find that incredibly touching and even a bit sentimental.”
In his 2009 autobiography The Tracks of My Years, Murray’s father Ken opened up about his experience raising an autistic son. (Murray is the son he shares with his third wife, Kerith Bruce.)
Writing about Murray being diagnosed at the age of three, Ken said: “It didn’t come as a surprise. But I can’t pretend it wasn’t a blow. It was not easy to accept I had an autistic son. Some say that after such a diagnosis you have to grieve for your lost child. I don’t like the terminology.
“Yes, you regret the lost opportunities and the changes it will mean to family life. I remember one of my early reactions was sadness that I wouldn’t be able to tell him bad jokes and hear him laugh. But my child is not lost. He is simply different.”
