What’s on
TV
What’s on
TV
What’s on
TV
26
G
ambling addict Karen
is so caught up in
online betting that
she’s thousands of pounds in
debt and can no longer afford
life basics, including birthday
presents for her children.
She started gambling
online 12 years ago on the
National Lottery website,
but now her addiction has
progressed to online casinos
and virtual jackpot machines.Powerless
‘It’s my son’s birthday today
and I haven’t been able to
buy him the presents he
wanted,’ she tells Ross Kemp
in the final episode of his
four-part documentary series.
‘The money was there for him
and I gambled it – that hurts.’
Her story is just one of
many that Ross hears as he
explores the impact of online
gambling, which is thought
to lead to the suicides of
between 250 and 650
people every year in the UK.
He meets two couples
whose sons took their
own lives because of
online gambling,
and also hearsfrom Alex, a teacher who lost
£127,000 in just 26 minutes
playing online roulette.
‘I’ve lost friendships, jobs
and relationships – I was
engaged – and I don’t see
my daughter,’ says Alex. ‘I’ll
never get those back, and
that’s the hardest thing.’
But Alex is so desperate to
turn his life around that he’s
taken the extreme measure
of living ‘off-grid’ with no
access to the internet.
‘This is my last chance,’ he
admits. ‘If I don’t keep myself
busy, then it’s game over. I’m
convinced if my addiction
were drink or drugs, I’d be
dead a long time ago.’ ■ Words:^ Hannah^Davies,Ian^MacEwanPhotos:Alamy,ITV,PAImagesFACTUAL
Ross Kemp:
Living with OnlineGambling Addiction
Thursday, 7.30pm ITVA mum’s addiction meant she couldn’t
afford presents for her son’s birthday
Huge impact...
Karen (right)
tells Ross how
her habit has
affected her kidsAll too much...
Gambling may be
responsible for up to
650 suicides a yearT
he beginning of the 20th
Century was a turbulent
time for the Royal Family.King George V’s cousin, Tsar
Nicholas II, had been murdered
in Russia, while another cousin,
Kaiser Wilhelm II, was ousted
from Germany after initiating
and losing World War One.
Amid fears of a revolution
in Britain, it was thought
the monarchy needed
a rebrand, including
changing the
family name from
Saxe-Coburg and
Gotha to Windsor,
and the royals were
mobilised to ‘save
the family firm’.
PR campaign
In the first of this three-part
series, previously unseen
royal correspondence and
diaries shed light on how the
five children of King George
V embarked on an extensive
charm offensive to win over the
public at home and abroad.
George sent his oldest son,
Edward, on a tour of the Empire.
‘Edward becomes the
ambassador of the Empire,’
explains Professor Frank Mort,
one historian in the series.
Edward’s tour included a
visit to India, where he arrived
after the infamous 1919 Amritsar
massacre by the British
Indian army, prompting
Mahatma Gandhi to
order a boycott of
the royal visit.
Ultimately, though,
the King’s decision
proved a wise one.
‘Edward was a
huge success on these
tours,’ explains historian
Dr Piers Brendon. ‘He had
glamour and an ability to
relate to people.’
Yet Edward, who later
abdicated after succeeding his
father as king, felt differently
about the experience. A letter
he wrote to his sister, Princess
Mary, highlights his displeasure.
‘How I loathe my job now
and all the press-puffed empty
success,’ he wrote. ‘I feel I am
through with it.’ QHow George V was determined to protect
the future of the British monarchy...
NEW FACTUAL
The Queen’s
Lost Family
Sunday, 8pm C 4Bright idea... King
George V and Queen
Mary ensured they
didn’t lose the crownA royal
rebrand!
Winning
Windsor...
The QueenPosed^bymodel