It’s commonplace these days to see celebrities doing things they claim are groundbreaking or that have never been done before. But, when Katie Price’s documentary airs this evening, it’s fair to say she is stepping into unchartered waters.
The issues of post-18 care and education for disabled teenagers is a forgotten and hidden issue in society as a whole – to see a celebrity and her son touring schools and being brutally honest about the difficulties they face, is beyond rare.
But, never afraid of… seemingly anything, Katie steps into the spotlight with Harvey with this documentary, deciding what the future looks like for Harvey, 18, when he leaves the people and places that have cared for him throughout childhood and moves to a school that will cater to his needs and, hopefully, lead to him having a more independent life.
‘People have asked me to do a documentary with Harv for years – I’ve always done reality and that’s very different,’ says Katie, when asked why she decided to put themselves out there and make this documentary. ‘When the BBC asked if I was interested, I thought, “I don’t know”. I can protect Harvey a lot in reality shows, but this opened the doors. Because it was Hannah [Lowes, the director] – and I’ve known Hannah for 10 years, she used to do my reality shows and she’s known Harvey – I said “I’m actually looking for a college for him, so that could be an angle to do as the transitional educational side”.
‘I didn’t want it to be just about his condition, I want it to be where people can learn something and educate people on what it’s like to have a child with complex needs.
'I could’ve showed Harvey having proper meltdowns, but I didn’t think I wanted to show that, because I felt it showed enough that he was challenging enough, I didn’t need to go down a route where people were like, “Oh my God!” I think you get a sense that he does have meltdowns, he is challenging, he is full-on. But he’s such a lovely boy as well – and the bond we have, no-one can take that away from us.’
Harvey was born with Septic Optic Dysplasia, a rare disorder that affects brain function, hormones and vision, and affects 1 in 10,000 births. He has a long list of medical and behavioural conditions and his future is unpredictable - there are no other adults known to have Harvey’s combination of conditions.
But as well as being about Katie and Harvey, the documentary gives a look into a world faced by so many families. In one particularly upsetting part, Katie meets a family whose son was sectioned at 15 years old – more than 2,000 people with autism and/or learning disabled people currently kept against their will in Assessment and Treatment Units.
‘People have to remember, autism isn’t mental health,’ says Katie. ‘There are people who have autism that are being sectioned and treated as they’ve got mental health issues and it’s just so sad, because once you’re in that system it can take five years to get out. I could not imagine Harvey being sectioned. He would go nuts – if he was locked in a room, he couldn’t understand it - he couldn’t have his iPad, he’d be asking for me, so he’d start smashing the walls and kicking off, because he was so frustrated. So to know this is happening now to some children like Harvey – and all you have to know is how to talk to them and listen – it’s so sad. I’d love to do a documentary about just that.’
I’d like to be an ambassador with Harvey to show this and how good it is - it’s not a bad thing to have disabilities and hopefully people can learn.
Katie says a second documentary about the pair’s journey could be in the pipeline. At the moment, the family are hoping Harvey might attend National Star college in Cheltenham, but they still want to see one more school, once covid allows.
‘It’s been hard and because of covid, I’ve still not chosen a college, there’s still one I want to look at, but hopefully it will be National Star, it is a good school. There should be a Part 2, I think they’re thinking about doing a part two to it. What would be nice would be for people to see Harvey going into his room, how he feels, what he has there, his first day there, leaving home… and what it’s like for the family to say bye to him. I mean it’s not forever, but he is still going to be away from home.’
When news of the documentary first aired, there were claims that the show was about Katie putting Harvey into care – but in reality the show looks at further education for Harvey, who is already away from home Monday to Friday at his current school. When the story broke, there was a lot of support for Katie, but a lot of trolling and cruel comments too.
‘I’ve always known what I’m like as a mum and I know what it’s like with Harvey, I’ve never asked for sympathy and I still don’t, I get on with it,’ she says of the reaction to the show. ‘So it’s like, “See guys - you judge me, but I’m actually a decent person and a decent mum” and you can’t fake that. People think I have carers here there and everywhere and I don’t. You can see I’m hands on. It annoys me when people say, “Oh she’s got this help’”, I don’t know what kind of life people think I lead. I’m actually very normal and humble. Hopefully people will just think, “She’s one of us, normal and gets on with it”.’
‘Getting on with it’ is a big part of Katie and Harvey’s life, it’s clear to see. She continues to film despite breaking the bones in her heel and foot at a water park, lifting herself in and out of cars and helping Harvey with her legs in bandages. And parts of the documentary are very emotional – but Katie never breaks down. That's not a judgement, just more stark in a world of celeb docs and realty shows where people regularly have their ‘emotional moment to camera’.
‘When I watched it back, my mum and that said, “It’s so moving” and I said, “Really?”’ says Katie. ‘I think because I live and breathe Harvey, I’m so used to it, that when I watched it, it didn’t give me goosebumps or nothing because I’m used to him. But I could see our bond we have. The feedback I’ve had, people have noticed things I’ve not noticed, like the way we finish each other’s sentences. But to me that’s normal.’
She added: ‘With this, it’s different when he’s 18 and it’s all new to me – the amount of people involved, the amount of forms you have to fill out. It can be overwhelming and I can see how a lot of kids can be put in the wrong colleges and stuff, because it’s stressful for parents. I’m lucky, I’m a strong parent, not that I’m judging anyone, I’ve been through it as well with mental health stuff. But when it’s your children, you just want the best for them and with Harvey, he can’t make that choice, so I have to do that for him, so he relies on me for everything.’
But while Katie is very matter of face about her life with Harvey, has it really sunk in that he’s moving on in life? ‘No, I don’t think you’re ever prepared for it,’ she says. ‘But all that keeps me going, is that after, he will be coming back home to mummy. He’ll never be away from me, never. I couldn’t do that to him and I couldn’t do that to us as family. We’d miss him. When he’s at school, it’s so quiet in the house, it’s mad.’
When it comes to celebrity parents who are honest and open about their children’s difficulties and disabilities, Katie is in a very small class – does she feel a responsibility to shine a light on a way of life and issues that thousands of people are facing alone and with little support?
‘If I’m honest, as a person with my job, take Harvey out of it, I make mistakes, I’m not manufactured, I’ve grown up in the media, I’ve been knocked, brought up, brought down, things have been said, I’ve had a rollercoaster life,’ says Katie. ‘But when it comes to Harvey, no-one can make that up. There are other celebrities with kids with autism and stuff, but you don’t really hear about it… there’s a lot of kids with disabilities and they hide away and don’t want to be seen out and don’t like people staring.
'But I’d like to be an ambassador with Harvey to show this and how good it is - it’s not a bad thing to have disabilities and hopefully people can learn. Being a celebrity sometimes you can achieve things that are good things – the documentary is one, making online abuse a criminal offence is another good thing. So as much as people knock me, they do have to give me credit. I’m not a bad person and I do try and do things for good as well.’
Katie's documentary, Katie Price: Harvey And Me is on BBC One at 8.30pm tonight and available on iPlayer afterwards.
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