I remember feeling so unprepared for my first child

Actor and TV presenter Joe Swash reflects on the challenges of becoming a father early in life. By YOLANTHE FAWEHINMI

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JOE Swash was just 25 when he welcomed his first child, Harry, in 2007, and had many unanswered questions, little support and a lack of positive male role models.

The 43-year-old ex-EastEnder is now a father to three children with TV presenter wife Stacey Solomon, and cares for two more of her children from a previous relationship, as well as Harry, who he had with ex-partner Emma Sophocleous.

Joe’s own experiences have prompted him to think about how both young and old fathers are sometimes undermined and excluded from the wider parenting experience.

In his new BBC Three documentary, Joe Swash: Forgotten Young Dads, the presenter hopes to celebrate young men who are “rewriting the young dad script’, and to highlight the importance of male role models.

While Joe finds out more about their stories and how the odds are stacked against them, he also reflects on his own path into fatherhood, and why young dads are more likely to drop out of school, which leads to some thought-provoking discussions about masculinity.

Ahead of its release, the I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! and Dancing On Ice winner talks about what inspired him to make the documentary, the impact of absent fathers and the support he wished he had as a young dad.

What inspired you to make this film now? why was it the right time?