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Wales Online
Lifestyle
Sam Cook

Chris Packham in tears as Radio 2 star Ken Bruce’s autistic, non-verbal son says he feels ‘alone’

English naturalist and Countryfile presenter Chris Packham is left in tears during the BBC Two documentary, Inside Our Autistic Minds. In the two-part series, Chris, who was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome in 2015, meets other autistic people and helps them create short films to reveal to their family and friends what’s really going on inside their minds.

The first episode on Tuesday, February 14 sees Chris meet radio legend Ken Bruce's son Murray, who had no real form of communication until he was nine years old. The 20-year-old, who lives in Oxfordshire, communicates by typing on a tablet.

After Chris asks Murray to come up with script ideas for his film, he is astonished by the reply. Chris reads an email in which the young man describes feelings of loneliness. “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,” he writes and Chris chokes up.

Read more: Ken Bruce leaving Radio 2:The time Rob Brydon pretended to be Scottish DJ for an entire Radio 2 show and no one knew

Ken and Kerith Bruce with son Murray (BBC)

"I mean frankly, it's enough to bring a tear to your eye, isn't it?" Chris explains. "I don't know whether it's because I have some form of affinity for Murray but I find that incredibly touching and a bit sentimental."

Earlier in the episode, Murray's father Ken describes how there was a "cruel irony" to his son's condition, considering his own job. Ken has hosted the morning weekday show on BBC Radio 2 for 31 years. He recently announced that he'd be leaving the station and joining Greatest Hits Radio - read more about that here.

Ken adds: “What he says has a real power and influence and each word has to be treasured.” The episode concludes with Murray showcasing his film to his family, who praise his work as "precious and poignant". The second episode of Inside Our Autistic Minds airs on BBC Two on Tuesday, February 21. Catch up on episode one on BBC iPlayer now. For more showbiz and television stories, get our newsletter here.

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