{"id":35048,"date":"2023-07-21T15:49:06","date_gmt":"2023-07-21T13:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1861771"},"modified":"2023-07-21T18:10:09","modified_gmt":"2023-07-21T16:10:09","slug":"katie-piper-on-jailhouse-mums-and-how-channel-4-were-ahead-of-the-curve-on-diversity","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/katie-piper-on-jailhouse-mums-and-how-channel-4-were-ahead-of-the-curve-on-diversity\/","title":{"rendered":"Katie Piper on Jailhouse Mums and how Channel 4 were \u201cahead of the curve\u201d on diversity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Katie Piper spoke with Radio Times magazine about the power of documentaries and her own viewing habits. <\/p>

By Kelly-Anne Taylor\n \t\t<\/p>

2023-07-21 13:49:06<\/p>

\n\n

This interview was originally published in\u00a0Radio Times magazine<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Writer, activist and documentarian Katie Piper\u2019s latest show is Jailhouse Mums, a series in which she travels across America visiting prisons and jails with very different approaches to pregnancy and motherhood behind bars.<\/p>\n

Piper spoke with Radio Times magazine<\/strong> about the show, as well as her own perspectives on the power of documentaries, diversity on-screen and grappling with contentious issues.<\/p>\n\nWhat\u2019s the view from your sofa?<\/strong><\/p>\nWe have a tiny snug in our house with a sofa, a rug and a flat-screen telly. In theory, it\u2019s where we are supposed to watch films and chill out. It never happens. If we watch telly, it\u2019s in the kitchen on the more uncomfortable sofa. That\u2019s just where we\u2019ve gravitated to!<\/p>\nYou have two young children. Do you ever get to choose what to watch?<\/strong><\/p>\nWe don\u2019t even bother when they\u2019re awake! In the evening, my husband [carpenter Richard Sutton] is very much in control because he\u2019s good and quick with the remote! If I get trusted with it, I accidentally cancel everyone\u2019s recordings.<\/p>\nWhat do you enjoy watching?<\/strong><\/p>\nWe love a real mishmash of content. We just finished <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/drama\/for-her-sins-release-date-channel-5\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">For Her Sins<\/a> on Channel 5. We like to binge but always fall asleep by 10pm \u2013 if we\u2019re getting wild on a Saturday, we will watch two episodes\u2026 then we\u2019re exhausted the next day. We also like light relief \u2013 <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/entertainment\/gogglebox-malones-advice-join-show-exclusive-newsupdate\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">Gogglebox<\/a>, First Dates and Mo Gilligan\u2019s latest show!<\/p>\n<div class=\""image-handler__container\" image-handler__container--aspect=\"\" style=\""padding-bottom:\" calc=\"\"> <picture><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/uktv80230397375-5b205c3.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=298%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/uktv80230397375-5b205c3.jpg?quality=90&resize=298%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/uktv80230397375-5b205c3.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=354%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/uktv80230397375-5b205c3.jpg?quality=90&resize=354%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/uktv80230397375-5b205c3.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=403%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/uktv80230397375-5b205c3.jpg?quality=90&resize=403%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/uktv80230397375-5b205c3.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=553%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/uktv80230397375-5b205c3.jpg?quality=90&resize=553%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/uktv80230397375-5b205c3.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=619%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/uktv80230397375-5b205c3.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/uktv80230397375-5b205c3.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=406%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/uktv80230397375-5b205c3.jpg?quality=90&resize=406%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/uktv80230397375-5b205c3.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=555%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/uktv80230397375-5b205c3.jpg?quality=90&resize=555%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><img class=\""wp-image-1861794\" align=\"\" size-landscape_thumbnail=\"\" image-handler__image=\"\" image-handler__image--aspect=\"\" no-wrap=\"\" js-lazyload=\"\" data-src=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/uktv80230397375-5b205c3.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" width=\""620"\" height=\""413"\" alt=\""Katie\" piper=\"\" jailhouse=\"\" mums=\"\" title=\""uktv_80230397375"\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\""caption-hold"\"><figcaption class=\""wp-caption-text"\"> Katie Piper\u2019s Jailhouse Mums<\/span><\/figcaption> UKTV\/Jack Margerison<\/i><\/span><\/div>\nIn 2008 you were the victim of an acid attack, a story you told in Katie: My Beautiful Face. What did you learn about the power of documentaries?<\/strong><\/p>\nI came to documentary-making first as a contributor. That programme had such a good response that Channel 4 wanted to continue making documentaries with me. At that time, I had set up a charity, I was meeting lots of people who were telling me their stories; they had been born with different genetic conditions, different facial disfigurements. That became the series My Beautiful Friends and I moved away from being the subject. Channel 4 were ahead of the curve \u2013 we weren\u2019t seeing as much diversity on telly in terms of disfigurement and disability.<\/p>\nYou once said, \u201cIf I must accept that I have permanently changed, then it\u2019s the industry I must now change.\u201d How would you assess your contribution to on-screen diversity?<\/strong><\/p>\nEvery single person who shows up authentically \u2013 who just tells it as it is and resists the temptation to Photoshop and edit \u2013 contributes to that [diversity]. All this curated, edited content conditions us. If you can be authentic, do it \u2013 because it really helps.<\/p>\nAfter such a life-changing attack, how did you regain your self-confidence?<\/strong><\/p>\nThe reason why it\u2019s a clich\u00e9 that you get more resilient as you get older is because it\u2019s true! Life experiences call on you to dig deep. Even when stuff goes wrong, it\u2019s really powerful. It\u2019s not a bad thing. You start to trust yourself that, whatever happens, you\u2019ll have the ability to be malleable, that you\u2019re not untouchable but that you\u2019ll be OK.<\/p> In your documentary series Katie Piper\u2019s Jailhouse Mums, you travel across the USA meeting women who are pregnant or have given birth behind bars. What did you learn about America\u2019s prison system?<\/strong><\/p>\nAmerica incarcerates the largest number of women in the world, and 60 per cent of women are in jail for drug-related offences. You\u2019re seeing women who are used as mules by men and criminal gangs, women who are affected by addiction themselves. Some would have been born addicted, their parents using drugs during pregnancy. The people I meet are women like you and me, whose lives have unravelled. The common thread is that the child is always the victim.<\/p>\nSome critics who have seen the documentary say that these women should not be afforded empathy because they\u2019ve committed a crime. How do you grapple with that as a broadcaster?<\/strong><\/p>\nSome of the contributors would tell you stories about when they were born. How by the age of three, their mum was letting drug dealers rape them in exchange for drugs. It\u2019s naive to go through life thinking, \u201cThat would never be me. I would never make that choice.\u201d A lot of these women never had a choice. My biggest hope for this series is that it humanises this part of the population, gives an insight into a world that you think you know about, but you don\u2019t. It helps people create a bit more empathy.<\/p>\nKatie Piper\u2019s Jailhouse Mums is available to stream now on UKTV Play. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0<a title=\""https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/"\" href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\nCheck out more of our\u00a0<a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/documentaries\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">Documentaries<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0<a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a title=\""https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/"\" href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">Streaming Guide<\/a>\u00a0to see what\u2019s on tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\nTry Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only \u00a31 with delivery to your home \u2013\u00a0<\/strong><a title=\""http:\/\/radiotimes.com\/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article"\" href=\"\/\/radiotimes.com\/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">subscribe now<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Katie Piper spoke with Radio Times magazine about the power of documentaries and her own viewing habits. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":35049,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/07\/katie-piper-on-jailhouse-mums-and-how-channel-4-were-ahead-of-the-curve-on-diversity.jpg",1345,897,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/07\/katie-piper-on-jailhouse-mums-and-how-channel-4-were-ahead-of-the-curve-on-diversity-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/07\/katie-piper-on-jailhouse-mums-and-how-channel-4-were-ahead-of-the-curve-on-diversity-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/07\/katie-piper-on-jailhouse-mums-and-how-channel-4-were-ahead-of-the-curve-on-diversity-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/07\/katie-piper-on-jailhouse-mums-and-how-channel-4-were-ahead-of-the-curve-on-diversity-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/07\/katie-piper-on-jailhouse-mums-and-how-channel-4-were-ahead-of-the-curve-on-diversity.jpg",1345,897,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/07\/katie-piper-on-jailhouse-mums-and-how-channel-4-were-ahead-of-the-curve-on-diversity.jpg",1345,897,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Katie Piper spoke with Radio Times magazine about the power of documentaries and her own viewing habits.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/35048"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}