SHOULD I HAVE CHILDREN?: ELLIE SIMMONDS RETURNS TO ITV WITH NEW DOCUMENTARY

Multiple Gold Medal winning Paralympian, Ellie Simmonds is returning to ITV later this year with a second documentary for the broadcaster.

Ellie Simmonds: Should I Have Children? will see Simmonds explore the idea of having children of her own when there's a chance they may be born with disabilities.

Ellie Simmonds commented: "Now having the understanding of what my birth mother and so many others experienced 30 years ago when it came to disability and pregnancy, I want to see how things have changed for parents today. I also want to challenge some of the perceptions that exist today about children born with disabilities."

It follows Ellie's 2023 documentary Finding My Secret Family, a raw and emotional journey of personal discovery where Ellie follows her own adoption journey as she tracks down her birth mother who gave her up for adoption after only two weeks.

In the programme, Ellie spends time with families who adopted Disabled children, hears deeply personal stories from Disabled people who tried to find their birth parents, only to be rejected again and highlights the pioneering work of social services teams around the UK.

Ellie also explored barriers on both sides of the adoptive process – both social and institutional – and asks if we are perpetuating an unfounded stigma around having Disabled children. From probing the existence of in-built systemic bias from the moment of birth, to a lack of awareness, Ellie’s mission is to investigate and unravel this complex issue. After finally meeting her birth mother for the first time, an emotional.

More details will be announced in due course.