A new Wiltshire radio show shines a light on the elations and frustrations of becoming a father.
Every week four new dads at BBC Radio Wiltshire will discuss fatherhood’s bumpy road – from the birth itself to gender disappointment, struggling to bond with their baby and the great breast versus bottle debate.
“Nothing is off the table,” said Dan O-Brien, a dad-of-two and the station’s political reporter.
“We will share our joys, our frustrations, our epic parenting fails, our staggering levels of ignorance – not least about how the female body works – the ridiculous, the fun and the serious.
“We tackle everything from handling ‘poonamis’ to tasting breast milk. From feeling completely in love to feeling completely bloody useless.”
The BBC journalists will be joined by guests including Will Unwin, a dad who blogged fearlessly about his struggle to bond with his baby daughter; Jamie Beaglehole, who blogs about adopting as a gay man; and Neil Sinclair, a commando-come-dad who has written a series of books on fatherhood.
The series, which starts on Monday, features a no holds barred audio diary from Nick Jewers (dad-of-one and newsreader at BBC Radio Wiltshire) during his baby’s first few weeks.
“Looking back now eight and a half months on I’m a bit embarrassed,” he says in an upcoming show. “I was knackered and, if I’m honest, I was questioning myself. I didn’t quite know what my role was at the time and I was a bit uncertain of things going forward.
“I was an emotional wreck.”
Nick and Dan will be joined every Monday from 9pm by Will Walder (dad-of-two and breakfast producer) and Sam York (dad-of-three and travel presenter).
Tune in to BBC Radio Wiltshire online, on the BBC Sounds app, on DAB or at 103.6FM. The show will be available afterwards on BBC Sounds.
ENDS
Notes to editor:
Photo caption, L to R: Sam York, Dan O’Brien, Will Walder, Nick Jewers*
*Please note this photo was taken earlier in the year before coronavirus restrictions were put in place.
