Channel 4 joined forces with charities Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and Student Minds to host a special screening of Big Boys at Westminster’s Regent Street Cinema. The event commemorated University Mental Health Day and featured a panel discussion on mental health and its depiction in the series, created by Westminster alumnus Jack Rooke.
On 13 March, attendees including students, MPs and charity workers gathered at Regent Street Cinema for a screening of the BAFTA-winning comedy series’ final episodes. Inspired by Jack’s time at Westminster, the show explores themes of friendship, mental health, sexuality and identity while at university, with its finale navigating the topics of suicide and grief.
The screening was followed by a panel discussion moderated by award-winning broadcaster Clara Amfo, who spoke to Jack and cast members Jon Pointing and Katy Wix about the issues explored in its final episodes. Jack also discussed his dedication to raising awareness for mental health as an ambassador for the suicide prevention charity CALM.
Katy Wix, John Pointing, Jack Rooke and Clara Amfo
Audience members were then invited to take part in a Q&A session with Dr Dom Thompson, multi-award-winning GP, young person’s mental health expert and Clinical Advisor to NICE and Student Minds. He was joined by a student ambassador Taj Donville-Outerbridge from London School of Economics and Wendy Robinson, Director of Services at CALM. The conversation discussed resources such as CALM’s C.A.R.E Kit and the support available on Student Mind’s dedicated website Student Space.
The event was a full-circle moment for Westminster alumnus Jack, who based the series on his and his friends’ experiences with issues such as mental health at university. The show was set at the fictional Brent University and filmed at Westminster’s Harrow Campus, where Jack once lived as a Journalism BA Honours student.
About the event, Jack said: “I was first affected by a suicide ten years ago this March. I know all too well how painful it is to live in the injustice of it, with the internal rigmarole of what-ifs and the low level feelings of guilt that affect those bereaved. And it has been my ambition for a decade now to try and write something about suicide which is somehow comforting, funny and optimistic for those left behind. I truly hope our finale of Big Boys does that, and in collaboration with CALM and Student Minds, we want to create a space to discuss how we best support those who are supporting someone else. That’s vital for me and I’m honoured Channel 4 can help put a spotlight on the organisations and charities who are actually making it better, and encouraging those struggling to wait and see how life can be different and how life will always be the better choice.”
This event directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Good Health and Wellbeing. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
Current students can find out more about the University’s counselling and mental health service.
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