I Swear: The film fighting back against abuse and 'cheap laughs' at Tourette's expense

When John Davidson was 10 years old, helium experienced his archetypal symptoms of Tourette syndrome - tiny facial tics and oculus blinking.

By the clip helium was 13, the neurological information was causing full-body movements truthful utmost helium compares himself with the young heroine successful fearfulness movie The Exorcist.

John tells Sky News: "There's a country wherever the girl's connected the furniture and her full body's twitching astir and screaming. That's astir what it felt like. My tics became truthful utmost that I was hurting myself. I was pulling muscles. I was bushed each the time.

"I would interruption down and outcry truthful galore times successful a time due to the fact that I was wholly retired of control. Something had wholly taken implicit my caput and my body."

Growing up successful Galashiels successful the Scottish Borders, John was repeatedly told his symptoms were successful his caput - oregon worse, intentional - erstwhile a accidental gathering with a visiting inferior doc portion successful infirmary led to a diagnosis.

Largely unheard of successful the 1980s, today, high-profile figures including Scottish instrumentalist Lewis Capaldi and US prima Billie Eilish person publically spoken astir surviving with Tourette's.

Affecting much than 300,000 radical successful Britain, it's much communal than galore think. One schoolchild successful each 100 is estimated to beryllium affected by the syndrome, according to NHS England.

While severity tin range, determination is presently nary cure.

And portion the University of Nottingham is moving connected a instrumentality which uses electrical pulses to suppress tic urges, the wristband - called Neupulse - is presently awaiting afloat aesculapian approval.

'Medication turned maine into a zombie'

Treated with drugs arsenic a child, John suffered devastating side-effects: "Anti-psychotic medications turned maine into a zombie. I've got astir apt astir a two-year play successful my teens wherever I person nary existent due memories."

Frustrated by the deficiency of enactment disposable to him increasing up, John is present a Tourette syndrome campaigner, recognised for his enactment with an MBE.

But adjacent that came with challenges unsocial to his condition. At the 2019 ceremonial astatine Holyrood Palace, erstwhile collecting his award, John shouted "F*** the Queen" astatine Elizabeth II.

He says: "It was horrific for me. It was similar the past happening I ever wanted to person to shout. And I deliberation that's the quality of the coprolalia, portion of the condition, wherever it's the worst imaginable happening you could accidental successful that situation."

Affecting a number of the Tourette's population, coprolalia is the involuntary utterance of socially inappropriate words oregon phrases.

While little common, it's the diagnostic of Tourette's astir often portrayed successful the media.

John goes on: "It came arsenic overmuch of a daze to maine arsenic to everyone else, you know? But I'm the 1 successful the infinitesimal having to woody with those emotions and feelings of wanting the crushed to swallow maine up. [Thinking] I don't privation to beryllium present immoderate more."

'Living with it is perfectly awful'

Now, successful a bid to tackle the stereotype, a movie is being made astir John's beingness based connected his 2025 memoir, with Game Of Thrones prima Robert Aramayo playing the pb role.

No alien to media vulnerability himself, John has appeared successful galore documentaries implicit the years, pursuing connected from the groundbreaking 1989 documentary astir his life, John's Not Mad. But it hasn't ever been a affirmative experience.

John says: "Every clip they marque a documentary, they marque specified a happening astir the swearing part, which past stigmatises the information due to the fact that radical are past near to presume that everyone with Tourette's swears and shouts obscenities."

In reality, coprolalia is not emblematic of the information and lone affects astir 1 successful 10 radical with Tourette's.

John acknowledges determination is simply a comedic constituent to this: "When radical deliberation of uncontrollably swearing similar that, it's funny. 'Oh my God', you know, 'shock, horror'. But for the 1 surviving with it, it's perfectly awful."

'Let's person sex!'

It's a sentiment the film's manager echoes.

Kirk Jones archetypal met John successful 2022. Meeting him astatine his location to sermon the imaginable of making the film, John opened the doorway and, aft inviting him in, shouted successful his face: "Let's person sex!"

His archetypal instauration to John's verbal ticks, the manager admits it was a "steep learning curve".

He tells Sky News: "There's thing astir Tourette's, which I don't deliberation has made it a precise affable oregon accessible condition. I deliberation that's down to the information that radical who person coprolalia travel crossed arsenic being assertive oregon argumentative oregon hard oregon upsetting people, and I deliberation that's unfair. They request arsenic overmuch enactment arsenic anyone else."

The manager says it took him immoderate clip to summation John's trust, showing helium wanted to bash much than conscionable revisit bushed stereotypes.

He says: "The Tourette's assemblage had been benignant of abused successful the past. They've been invited to look connected TV shows oregon vigor oregon beryllium successful paper articles, nether the guise of helping radical to recognize Tourette's more. But what the TV transmission oregon the vigor amusement truly wanted was conscionable a inexpensive laugh.

"When I archetypal met John and started talking astir the thought of the film, helium was understandably suspicious."

Handing implicit immoderate originative control, John is besides an enforcement shaper connected the film.

'When you laugh, it breaks the ice'

Now, astatine 54, and having lived with the information for implicit 40 years, John believes radical are becoming much tolerant of Tourette's, but would emotion to spot further acceptance.

"It's astir not being shocked. It's not astir being dormant superior with a consecutive face. Feel escaped to laugh, due to the fact that erstwhile you laugh, it breaks the ice.

"I privation radical had the assurance to attack radical with Tourette's and conscionable woody with it arsenic if it was an mundane thing."

The director, too, hopes the movie volition person a real-world interaction and unfastened people's eyes to the world of the condition.

He says: "I anticipation this movie tin play a tiny portion successful starting to refocus people's attraction connected helping and supporting radical alternatively than conscionable laughing oregon mocking."

I Swear is successful UK and Irish cinemas from Friday 10 October.

Anyone looking for enactment oregon accusation astir Tourette syndrome tin entree resources astatine Tourettes Action oregon Tourette Scotland for those surviving successful Scotland.