Former Real Housewives of Cheshire star Christine McGuinness has revealed that she is working on a new BBC autism documentary.
The mother-of-three hopes that the new BBC special will bring awareness to women and young girls after announcing that she was diagnosed with the condition last year.
The one-hour special will be called Christine McGuinness: The Secret World of Autistic Women and Girls.
The former RHOCheshire 'friend' shared the news in a lengthy Instagram post. "I am so excited to announce that I am filming a new documentary with @bbc Christine McGuinness: The Secret World of Autistic Women and Girls," she began. "My diagnosis was such a positive thing personally and a huge relief. Finally I understand myself and my own identity so much more now."
"I am aware that I ‘mask’ a lot, I try to fit in, I copy others and this is something I really want people to understand as this behaviour is often found in autistic people but more so women and girls," she wrote. "The hour-long BBC documentary will unravel the untold story of how autism in women and girls has been ignored and misunderstood by science and society - often seen as something mostly affecting men."
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"I believe that my younger life could have been very different if I had been better understood during my school years," she continued. "Roughly 1% of the UK population, or an estimated 700,000 people, are diagnosed as autistic, which means your brain works in a different way to other people’s, and can impact how you interact with the world."
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She added, "Thank you all so much for the love and support you have shown me and my family so far. I’m so excited and grateful for this opportunity ❤️"
Christine's husband wrote in the comment section of the post, "👏👏👏👏👏👏."
Christine and Paddy have been bringing awareness to the condition as their three children, eight-year-old twins Leo and Penelope and five-year-old Felicity, have been diagnosed with autism.
This will be the second BBC documentary for Christine. In 2021, she and her husband shared their story in their BBC documentary titled Paddy and Christine McGuinness: Our Family and Autism.
Photo Credit: ITV; Monkey Kingdom