ITV marks Mental Health Awareness Week

With the departure of Jeremy Kyle and Piers Morgan there are no more clashes of priorities at the network as ITV get back to promoting mental wellbeing.

This week ITV is marking Mental Health Awareness 2021 as part of its continuing commitment to get the nation talking and promote mental wellness.

“Keeping across our mental health is important for all of us which is why creating a culture that supports the mental health of one another is so important.

“ITV can speak to more people, and reach more communities, than almost any other organisation in Britain and I think it is brilliant that ITV is choosing to use that powerful platform to bring mental wellbeing to the centre of our national conversation. Opening up and talking can make such a difference and ITV’s championing of that message will help so many to take the first step.” – Ruth Davidson, Chair of ITV’s Mental Health Advisory Group

Alastair Campbell guest presenting on Good Morning Britain, new Britain Get Talking podcast episodes, a special edition of Loose Men, and a special ident created by an artist and a neuroscientist is all part of ITV’s plans to get the nation talking and promote mental wellness during Mental Health Awareness Week that launched yesterday, (10-16th May, 2021).

ITV launched its mental wellness campaign, Britain Get Talking, nearly three years ago, in October 2019 by pausing Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions to create a space to start a national conversation about mental wellness.

The lowest depths of television: Loose Women’s ganging up on a guest in 2018.

To date over 56 million actions have been taken as a result of the Britain Get Talking campaign to support mental wellbeing by connecting with others, which is nearly an action for every adult in the UK.

ITV Daytime however has been at the centre of bullying and ranting accusations for a number of years. Coleen Nolan and her sister ganging up on Kim Woodburn proved to be one of the most complained about daytime moments ever for the broadcaster in 2018, while The Jeremy Kyle Show was home for a decade of mocking troubled, possibly even vulnerable, people looking for family resolutions or solutions to personal situations. Kyle’s public ‘stocks’ show was pulled after the death of a participant a few weeks after recording an episode in 2019.

It’s his show, it’s got his name on the wall, a regular retort to guests who got out of line.

The highest complained moment on ITV, however, came courtesy of Good Morning Britain in March when host Piers Morgan, famed for ranting at guests and at topics he wasn’t a fan of, blasted Meghan Markle and her comments to Oprah Winfrey about her time in the UK, including thoughts of suicide and searching for mental health assistance.

The charity Mind was so appalled by the ITV broadcast they released a statement:

However, now their schedules are clear of bile, ITV is focused on making Britain Get Talking a major centrepiece of the broadcaster.

The current campaign, which launched with a stunt featuring Ant, Dec and Sir Mo Farah in Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway on 3rd April, continues through into Mental Health Awareness Week with a campaign centred around the idea that ‘The better we talk, the better we feel.’ Adverts featuring Roman Kemp, Alex Beresford and Rochelle Humes as hosts, point to ‘The How To Chat Show’ on ITV Hub, a series of short-form films featuring Anne-Marie, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Nicholas Pinnock, Dr Ranj and Charlene White, discussing different ways to have a better quality of conversation.

“I have been so impressed at how willing ITV has been to seek out and listen to external voices and experts, through initiatives like the Mental Health Advisory Group, which has helped inform and guide the broadcaster’s mental health strategy.

“ITV’s ongoing work, such as its many activities during Mental Health Awareness Week, makes a real and positive difference to people’s lives. ” – Ruth Davidson, Chair of ITV’s Mental Health Advisory Group

The Britain Get Talking digital on-screen graphic and Britain Get Talking break bumpers will appear across the week, totalling 570 Britain Get Talking messages on air, reminding viewers that the better we talk, the better we feel.