A Very Modern Family: Stories and guidance to nurture your relationships

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The next child down is Tylan, who is autistic, and Tylan is in Hollyoaks, and Tylan’s pronouns are he/him.” She added: “They were the first autistic, at the time, girl ever to play an autistic character on UK telly. So that was groundbreaking. As society undergoes a transformation that challenges traditional notions of family and community, questions arise: How can we maintain unity within our families and communities? How do we build an inclusive society where no one feels oppressed or left behind? BAFTA award-winning broadcasters and vocal coaches Carrie and David Grant joined the Chris Evans Breakfast Show with cinch to talk about their new book A Very Modern Family. And then Arlo is 17. Arlo is amazing. Arlo’s at school, in an autism school. And Arlo’s pronouns are they/he, slightly gender-fluid. Carrie and David Grant have been regular fixtures on our television screens for decades. They were vocal coaches and judges on Fame Academy, judged the BAFTA award-winning Glee Club and have been part of several BBC primetime entertainment shows. Alongside co-authoring a bestselling vocal coaching book, Carrie has also written for various books on subjects such as mental health, child psychology and autism. For the past ten years they have run a parent support group and Carrie has been involved in several campaigns and Parliamentary white papers across health and education.

Carrie and David Grant talk to Chris Evans about encountering parenting situations 'that you're not prepared for'It is a reflection of the fact that society is changing faster than most of us can keep up with. The wider concepts of family and community are being deconstructed. There are those who are desperately clinging to the old and those who are desperate for the new to be accepted. How do we hold our families and communities together in unity? How do we create a society where all are included and none are oppressed? Legally, as the woman giving birth to the child, Aoife is the only one with guardianship rights: in the hospital, she must sign documents so that Brian and Arthur can care for the baby. And that’s just the start of the steps that must be taken so that the couple have any sort of agency regarding their daughter. Until then, says their lawyer, “neither of you has a legal relationship with the child”. Carrie and David Grant have an extraordinary family story to tell. They have four children, one of whom is adopted, and all have come with a curveball: mental health challenges, neurodivergence, trans non-binary identities, various sexualities, and they are a mixed-race family, too. He added: “I would say that, in the book, we give lots of guidelines and lots of strategies, but not directions. Because the way that you change something… things have to be malleable to suit your child, in your particular situation, in your family dynamic."

Carrie gave Chris a rundown of their kids, explaining that 28-year-old Carrie is an actor and “one of the stars of Halo, the TV series. And Olive has ADHD and their pronouns are they/them. They’re non-binary. Brian & Arthur’s Very Modern Family (RTÉ One, 9.35pm) is two documentaries in one. The first is in the genre of “celebrity does something interesting” as former Big Brother winner Brian Dowling and choreographer and Dancing With The Stars judge Arthur Gourounlian chronicle their journey to parenthood. The couple have been married for 34 years and have four children, three of whom are trans/non-binary and all four are neurodivergent. In their book, the Fame Academy judges speak about the challenges of family life, as well as sharing what they have learned. In “A Very Modern Family,” Carrie and David Grant open their hearts to share the trials and triumphs of creating an incredible, diverse family and community. Their multi-intersectional family serves as a beacon of hope and change. Through their personal experiences, they offer profound insights and mindset shifts necessary to forge a more accepting and unified space for all.Marc writes (main picture): I specifically focused on the South Africa captain Siya Kolisi, far left, as he sung the national anthem, Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika, as he sings with so much passion and emotion.