Joe Swash to front BBC one-off documentary on Britain's Young Dads

Joe Swash is launching a solo BBC project, stepping away from his family reality series with wife Stacey Solomon. The actor, 43, and Stacey, 35, currently star in a BBC show that documents the ups and downs of life with their blended family, including Rex, Rose and Belle, while Stacey is also mum to Zachary and Leighton from previous relationships and Swash has a son, Harry, from a prior relationship. The new project marks Swash's first major solo broadcast work with the BBC in recent years, and it will be a one-off, hour-long documentary set to air on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer, withSwash serving as presenter and central narrator for the feature.

According to The Sun, the program is titled Joe Swash: Britain’s Young Dads and will shine a light on young fathers across the UK. Swash told The Sun that meeting the young men behind the statistics has been eye-opening, and the documentary will spark conversations about masculinity, positive male role models, and why young dads deserve visibility and celebration. He described his own journey to fatherhood as a turning point in his life and said the film would follow him as he travels the country to hear from other young dads about the highs and lows of parenting.

The BBC project sits alongside Swash’s ongoing collaboration with Stacey Solomon on their family-focused programming, but it marks a distinct standalone endeavor centered on a specific demographic. By following young dads from different backgrounds, the documentary aims to broaden understanding of the realities they face, including financial pressures, relationship dynamics, and balancing work with childcare, while highlighting stories that are often underrepresented on mainstream television.

The move comes amid a busy period for Solomon, who had multiple nominations at this year’s National Television Awards but did not win in any category. The nominations placed her two ongoing series, Stacey & Joe and Sort Your Life Out, in the Entertainment category against Clarkson's Farm, which ultimately took the award. Solomon previously voiced frustration at award overlap, telling radio hosts that it was “absolutely ludicrous” to have both shows competing in the same category. The NTAs influence has kept her in the public conversation even as the family continues to draw strong viewer interest for their reality-format projects.

Industry observers note that Swash’s upcoming documentary aligns with broader industry trends toward intimate, character-driven storytelling that examines social and cultural issues through personal narrative. The project also underscores the BBC’s ongoing interest in broader family and parenting themes, especially those that address underrepresented groups such as young fathers and the varied experiences of modern families.

As Swash travels the country to meet other young dads, the film will document not only their daily routines but also the broader social and policy landscapes that influence paternal involvement. The hour-long format allows room for nuanced conversations about how communities, workplaces, and public services can support new fathers who are navigating early parenthood, sometimes while balancing education, training, or early career pressures.

While the documentary explores sensitive topics, it also emphasizes resilience, community, and shared responsibility. Viewers can expect candid interviews, firsthand accounts of parenting trade-offs, and moments of humor and warmth that characterize Swash’s public persona and his decades-long career in entertainment. The project’s aim is to broaden public perception of fatherhood and to celebrate the contributions of young dads who are often overlooked or defined by statistics rather than stories.