Morrissey uncovers care home truth

Neil Morrissey is to finally uncover the reasons why he was taken into care as a child for a new BBC documentary.

The Men Behaving Badly actor was taken into care at the age of 10 – separating him from his brother Stephen – but says he has never had any satisfactory explanation for it.

Neil said he wanted to uncover the truth after all these years but was unsure what he would find.

“I was only 10 when I was sent into care. I went out one door of the court and my brother went out the other,” he said.

“We only saw each other rarely for the rest of our childhood. I’ve always wanted to know why I was sent away and this is my chance to find out. It’s something that’s hung over me for nearly 40 years. I’m not sure what I’ll find but I feel it’s something I’ve got to do.”

The programme, with a working title Neil Morrissey On Care Homes, has been commissioned and will be screened by BBC2 next year.

The Bob The Builder star will meet many of his contemporaries as well as staff who looked after him as he looks into the whole care home system.

A BBC spokeswoman said: “He has had a successful TV career, but the years in care, understandably, affected his whole life.

“Now he is going back to meet the care home friends and teachers that he hasn’t seen for over 30 years to investigate what effects living in care had on him and his friends and to try and find out the reasons he himself was put into care.”