People Moved By Emotional Joe Wicks Documentary

Viewers have been moved by an emotional documentary about Joe Wicks. Watch a touching conversation with his dad here:

Throughout the horrific Covid-19 lockdowns of recent years, Wicks offered countless families across the country invaluable relief.

The fitness coach's PE lessons were livestreamed by millions, and served as a precious means of keeping fit, blowing off steam and clearing heads when we were confined to our homes.

But Wicks' childhood was a far cry from the life he lives today, and it is quite remarkable that he has become the pillar of fitness that he is.

The 36-year-old grew up in a council estate, and his parents' lives were far from healthy.

His dad was a heroin addict, while his mum had obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), eating disorders and anxiety.

Consequently, he spent prolonged periods without his parents, as they spent many months in rehab facilities.

Wicks - aka The Body Coach - reflected on this challenging upbringing in new documentary Joe Wicks: Facing My Childhood, which aired on BBC One tonight (Monday 16 May).

The hour-long doc is littered with touching moments, as Wicks confronted his past and shared candid conversations with friends and family.

On numerous occasions, Wicks was moved to tears - and it seems like many viewers at home were too:

It is heart breaking to see as the kid point of view , how they suffer, how they crave for love, stability & then blame themselves that they are responsible#JoeWicks @BBConeLondon

— planet.bnm (@BnmPlanet) May 16, 2022

I knew that @thebodycoach would be incredible tonight, but 8 mins in and it’s already setting the bar really high for raising awareness, reducing stigma and normalising conversations around #mentalhealth #joewicks #facingmychildhood #addiction

— Kate D (@K4TE_D) May 16, 2022

Very brave to talk publicly about such personal experiences. Thank you , it will be a massive help to many. 🙏

— Yvie & Layla 🐈‍⬛🖤🐾 (@YvieCrocks5) May 16, 2022

Such a powerful programme...thank you for sharing. You will single handedly be responsible for starting so many conversations behind so many front doors. It's good to talk, it's good to share! It's such a winwin #thankyou

— Nancy Lalor (@NancyLalor) May 16, 2022

Wicks has two children, Indie and Marley, with wife Rosie, who he married in 2019. The couple are expecting their third child in September.

He aims to give them a very different upbringing to his, but he thinks it is important that they are not sheltered from it.

He said: "I think it's important to bring them into the conversation and let them know about my history.

"Because they live in this wonderful house… and I want them to understand that not everyone lives in these houses and has the holidays that we do.

"I want them to appreciate our life and be grateful and thankful and know that the history of our family really created all of this, it really did.

"So I'm going to talk to them openly and get them talking about their mental health as much as I can when they start going to school and get on phones and stuff like that."

You can catch up with Joe Wicks: Facing My Childhood on iPlayer.