Me and My Mum
Channel 4, 27 March 9pm

In Me and My Mum, Tony Robinson takes an intensely personal look at the plight of Britain's elderly in a film about his 89-year old mum, Phyllis, who suffers from dementia and lives in a care home.

Tony looks candidly at an issue that will eventually face many of us, but which we prefer not to talk about: the reality of what we should do when our parents can no longer live independently. "I'm angry at the way old people are treated in this country," says Tony. "I feel frustrated that no one ever talks about it, and maybe I'm guilty because I am as much to blame as everyone else."

Whether caring for a parent themselves or admitting them to a home, he meets other people facing the same dilemma in different ways and asks what we, as a society and as individuals, can do about it.

In the film Tony also talks to care professionals, organisations representing the elderly and politicians about the possible solutions. He faces all of this with honesty, wit and a determination to find a solution. And while Tony wonders whether more could be done for his mum, and faces an unexpected change in her health, he also realises that this is a situation that may well confront him and his own children in time.

See help and info for details of organisations, websites and books relevant to this programme and the others in the season.

The Ageing Debate

Digital TV station Community Channel has made a 60-minute round-table debate show, The Ageing Debate, to be shown after Me and My Mum. Presented by Jon Snow, the debate discusses the challenges for the care system and gets to grips with what it means to be old in 21st century Britain. The guests debating these issues are Brian Groombridge from advisory group Better Government for Older People, Caroline White of the Alzheimer's Society, Gillian Crosby, Director of Centre for Policy on Ageing, Jane Ashcroft, Director of Care Services of Anchor Trust and Daniel Blake from Action on Elder Abuse.

The show will broadcast on Community Channel on Monday 27 March at 10pm, immediately after Me and My Mum. Community Channel is broadcast 24 hours a day, every day on Sky 539, Telewest 233 and NTL 14 & 511, and from 6-9am on Freeview 87. Broadcasting original shows, the best of terrestrial TV and showcasing the work of new directors and community programme makers, the channel is the place for real-life stories. Visit www.communitychannel.org.

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