Tanya Byron
Encyclopedia
Tanya Byron is a British
psychologist
, writer
and media personality, best known for her work as a child therapist on television shows Little Angels
and The House of Tiny Tearaways
. She also co-created the BBC2 sitcom The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle
with Jennifer Saunders
, and still contributes articles to various newspapers.
In 2008 she became Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Edge Hill University
.
. Her father was the film and television director John Sichel
, later the founder of ARTTS International
in Yorkshire.
When Byron was aged 15 years old her grandmother was murdered by being battered to death by a woman who abused illicit drugs. Her grandmother knew the woman, who was in pursuit of money. Byron was perplexed by this cruelty, and at about that time she began to try to understand how anyone could do such a terrible thing and she began to be interested in psychology.
, University of York
(BSc
Psychology, 1989), University College London
(MSc
Clinical Psychology, 1992), and University of Surrey
(PhD
, 1995). Her PhD thesis was entitled "The evaluation of an outpatient treatment programme for stimulant drug misuse", and was completed at University College Hospital
.
documentary film series. Once she qualified, Byron worked in the British National Health Service
for 18 years in a number of public health areas such as drug addiction, STDs, and mental disorders.
In 2005, Byron was featured on French & Saunders
` Christmas Special as herself, who came in to sort out Dawn and Jennifer's
childish behaviour on the show. Subsequently she co-wrote two series of The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle
with Jennifer Saunders. Byron has also co-authored a book on parenting based on the Little Angels show and two other books on child development and parenting as well as writing weekly articles for The Times and contributing to several women's magazines. She has also worked with the Home Office on the current changes to the Homicide Act as it relates to children and young people and also works with the National Family and Parenting Institute advising government and ministers on related policy.
In September 2007, it was announced that she would head an independent review in England - supported by the Department for Children, Schools, and Families, as well as the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport - into the potentially harmful effects of both the Internet and video games on children. This was published in March 2008 as 'Safer Children in a Digital World' but is commonly called the Byron Review
.
In April 2008, Byron fronted a four part show called "Am I Normal?" exploring the boundaries of acceptable behaviour.
In May 2008, she was elected as the first Chancellor of Edge Hill University
, in Lancashire. Edge Hill University
also appointed her to the post of Professor of the Public Understanding of Science, and she delivered her inaugural lecture, 'The Trouble With Kids', in March the following year.
In 2009, Byron was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of York
.
Byron is the patron of Prospex, a charity which works with young people in North London. She is also a partner in a media company, Doris Partnership.
actor Bruce Byron in Barnet
, London
, in 1997. They have a daughter (born 1995, Hendon
, London
) and a son (born 1998, Barnet
). Tanya and Bruce met when Bruce applied to the very first ARTTS course.
, Rachel Morris
and Laverne Antrobus
became household names working on the British TV show Little Angels
(which ran for three series), a docu-soap that follows the lives of families where the children have behavioural problems that are causing the parents difficulty. The show is seen as a 'life line' by the parents who are effectively calling professionals with years of experience of working with children and families to help them fix a problem that they believe beyond their ability to fix. Tanya Byron, Stephen Briers, Rachel Morris and Laverne Antrobus, monitor the behaviour of the family and the children before discussing with the parents the real underlying causes of the problem (which are nearly always in some way either caused by or contributed to by the parents themselves - usually by inadverently rewarding inappropriate behaviour with their attention). They then discuss a course of action with them and later they coach them in how to change their own and their children's behaviour to improve the situation (this is frequently done in scenes where the family is filmed doing something together with the parents receiving advice from the attending professional via an ear piece). The show is intended to be instructive to viewers in how to deal with common problems as well as of real help to the family being filmed (and of course entertaining).
, a reality TV
style show that brings three families experiencing problems into a large, purpose-built house where they are monitored and aided for a week. The show is vaguely similar to programmes like Big Brother, in that all the rooms have cameras in them and the families are frequently monitored in their activities with the audience shown highlights of a particular day. Each family stays in the house for six days in which time Tanya monitors them all for one day before having very honest and direct discussions with the parents about the issues and how they can be dealt with, and then guiding the families through courses of action, exercises and deliberate changes of behaviour on the parents' side to deal with the problems. Tanya does not do this entirely singlehandedly, as one element of the programme is the support the parents receive from the other families who are in the house with them at the same time.
The show is characterised by: scenes of children misbehaving, therapy
sessions between Tanya and the parents of the children (which are often very emotional and are sometimes the first time they've ever really discussed the problems they're facing), tasks in and outside the house which the families are set to help them practice the skills they've learnt (often having to do things they would normally find difficult, like take a child with eating problems to a restaurant) and by the ending, the families review any improvements or shortcomings they've made.
In 2007, Byron stated that she did not want to make any more television programmes on parenting as it had become "a well-marketed area".
" exploring the boundaries of acceptable behaviour. The episodes explore the themes of addiction, faith, sex and body image. The program presents both behaviours and treatments which Dr Byron is able to explore objectively but with some common sense cynicism. Is having sex with 5000 men within the range of normal behaviour? Is being attracted to pre-pubescent girls okay if you don't act on that attraction in a way that harms or coerces them? Are sex addiction or addiction to computer games real physiological addictions? Is hearing God different to hearing voices? These are the questions that she explores, without yielding to the temptation to give easy answers. This was based on the radio series presented by Vivienne Parry
.
, a BBC
magazine radio programme about psychology and psychiatry.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and media personality, best known for her work as a child therapist on television shows Little Angels
Little Angels (TV series)
Little Angels is a Bafta-nominated British reality television show which ran for three series on BBC Three .The series, in the docu-soap genre, aimed to show parents how to overcome common behavioural problems in their children, using a team of experts who observed and gave advice...
and The House of Tiny Tearaways
The House of Tiny Tearaways
The House of Tiny Tearaways is a BBC Three reality TV show hosted by Dr Tanya Byron and Claudia Winkleman and produced by .The show brings three families experiencing problems into a large, purpose-built house where they are monitored and helped for a week...
. She also co-created the BBC2 sitcom The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle
The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle
The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle is a British sitcom that was originally aired on BBC 2 in 2007. The programme was written and created by Jennifer Saunders and Tanya Byron...
with Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
, and still contributes articles to various newspapers.
In 2008 she became Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Edge Hill University
Edge Hill University
Edge Hill University is situated in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England. It has three faculties: Education, Health and Social Care, and Arts and Sciences.- History :...
.
Early life
Byron was born in the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Her father was the film and television director John Sichel
John Sichel
John Peter Sichel was a British director of film, stage and television, and, later in life, a film, television, and theatre trainer....
, later the founder of ARTTS International
ARTTS International
ARTTS International was a multi-discipline film, television, radio and stage training centre in Bubwith, East Riding of Yorkshire, England established by John Sichel in 1990...
in Yorkshire.
When Byron was aged 15 years old her grandmother was murdered by being battered to death by a woman who abused illicit drugs. Her grandmother knew the woman, who was in pursuit of money. Byron was perplexed by this cruelty, and at about that time she began to try to understand how anyone could do such a terrible thing and she began to be interested in psychology.
Education
Byron was educated at North London Collegiate SchoolNorth London Collegiate School
North London Collegiate School is an independent day school for girls founded in 1850 in Camden Town, and now in the London Borough of Harrow.The Good Schools Guide called the school an "Academically stunning outer London school in a glorious setting which, in 2003, demonstrated its refusal to rest...
, University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
(BSc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
Psychology, 1989), University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
(MSc
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
Clinical Psychology, 1992), and University of Surrey
University of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. It received its charter on 9 September 1966, and was previously situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology...
(PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
, 1995). Her PhD thesis was entitled "The evaluation of an outpatient treatment programme for stimulant drug misuse", and was completed at University College Hospital
University College Hospital
University College Hospital is a teaching hospital located in London, United Kingdom. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is closely associated with University College London ....
.
Career
Prior to training in Clinical Psychology, Tanya Byron worked as a researcher on the Video DiariesVideo Diaries
Video Diaries was a BBC television programme produced by the Community Programme Unit. The series of programmes was created in 1990 by producer Jeremy Gibson. The programme's production team offered members of the public basic video training and ongoing...
documentary film series. Once she qualified, Byron worked in the British National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
for 18 years in a number of public health areas such as drug addiction, STDs, and mental disorders.
In 2005, Byron was featured on French & Saunders
French & Saunders
French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television show written by and starring comic duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act....
` Christmas Special as herself, who came in to sort out Dawn and Jennifer's
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
childish behaviour on the show. Subsequently she co-wrote two series of The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle
The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle
The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle is a British sitcom that was originally aired on BBC 2 in 2007. The programme was written and created by Jennifer Saunders and Tanya Byron...
with Jennifer Saunders. Byron has also co-authored a book on parenting based on the Little Angels show and two other books on child development and parenting as well as writing weekly articles for The Times and contributing to several women's magazines. She has also worked with the Home Office on the current changes to the Homicide Act as it relates to children and young people and also works with the National Family and Parenting Institute advising government and ministers on related policy.
In September 2007, it was announced that she would head an independent review in England - supported by the Department for Children, Schools, and Families, as well as the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport - into the potentially harmful effects of both the Internet and video games on children. This was published in March 2008 as 'Safer Children in a Digital World' but is commonly called the Byron Review
Byron Review
The Byron Review was a report delivered on the 27 March 2008 to the UK Department for Children, Schools and Families. It was authored and overseen by Dr Tanya Byron....
.
In April 2008, Byron fronted a four part show called "Am I Normal?" exploring the boundaries of acceptable behaviour.
In May 2008, she was elected as the first Chancellor of Edge Hill University
Edge Hill University
Edge Hill University is situated in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England. It has three faculties: Education, Health and Social Care, and Arts and Sciences.- History :...
, in Lancashire. Edge Hill University
Edge Hill University
Edge Hill University is situated in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England. It has three faculties: Education, Health and Social Care, and Arts and Sciences.- History :...
also appointed her to the post of Professor of the Public Understanding of Science, and she delivered her inaugural lecture, 'The Trouble With Kids', in March the following year.
In 2009, Byron was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
.
Byron is the patron of Prospex, a charity which works with young people in North London. She is also a partner in a media company, Doris Partnership.
Personal life
Byron married The BillThe Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
actor Bruce Byron in Barnet
London Borough of Barnet
The London Borough of Barnet is a London borough in North London and forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 331,500 and covers . It borders Hertfordshire to the north and five other London boroughs: Harrow and Brent to the west, Camden and Haringey to the south-east and Enfield to the...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in 1997. They have a daughter (born 1995, Hendon
Hendon
Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) and a son (born 1998, Barnet
London Borough of Barnet
The London Borough of Barnet is a London borough in North London and forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 331,500 and covers . It borders Hertfordshire to the north and five other London boroughs: Harrow and Brent to the west, Camden and Haringey to the south-east and Enfield to the...
). Tanya and Bruce met when Bruce applied to the very first ARTTS course.
Little Angels
Tanya Byron, Stephen BriersStephen Briers
Stephen Briers D Clin Psychol, PhD is a British clinical psychologist.Briers was an on-screen expert in BBC Three's Little Angels and Teen Angels, working with Tanya Byron. In 2006, he presented the Channel 4 series, Make Me A Grownup. He also presents The 10 Demandments for Channel Five. Briers...
, Rachel Morris
Rachel Morris
Rachel Morris DHP, MNRHP is an English psychotherapist and counsellor, who practises in Manchester, UK. She is also Author of 'The Single Parent's Handbook' Pearson and Sex psychotherapist for Cosmopolitan Mangazine....
and Laverne Antrobus
Laverne Antrobus
Laverne Antrobus is a British psychologist, author, and television presenter.She was born in Reading, Berkshire, to Harold and Yvonne Antrobus, who moved to England from St.Vincent, West Indies in 1964...
became household names working on the British TV show Little Angels
Little Angels (TV series)
Little Angels is a Bafta-nominated British reality television show which ran for three series on BBC Three .The series, in the docu-soap genre, aimed to show parents how to overcome common behavioural problems in their children, using a team of experts who observed and gave advice...
(which ran for three series), a docu-soap that follows the lives of families where the children have behavioural problems that are causing the parents difficulty. The show is seen as a 'life line' by the parents who are effectively calling professionals with years of experience of working with children and families to help them fix a problem that they believe beyond their ability to fix. Tanya Byron, Stephen Briers, Rachel Morris and Laverne Antrobus, monitor the behaviour of the family and the children before discussing with the parents the real underlying causes of the problem (which are nearly always in some way either caused by or contributed to by the parents themselves - usually by inadverently rewarding inappropriate behaviour with their attention). They then discuss a course of action with them and later they coach them in how to change their own and their children's behaviour to improve the situation (this is frequently done in scenes where the family is filmed doing something together with the parents receiving advice from the attending professional via an ear piece). The show is intended to be instructive to viewers in how to deal with common problems as well as of real help to the family being filmed (and of course entertaining).
The House of Tiny Tearaways
In 2005 Tanya began to host her own show called The House of Tiny TearawaysThe House of Tiny Tearaways
The House of Tiny Tearaways is a BBC Three reality TV show hosted by Dr Tanya Byron and Claudia Winkleman and produced by .The show brings three families experiencing problems into a large, purpose-built house where they are monitored and helped for a week...
, a reality TV
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
style show that brings three families experiencing problems into a large, purpose-built house where they are monitored and aided for a week. The show is vaguely similar to programmes like Big Brother, in that all the rooms have cameras in them and the families are frequently monitored in their activities with the audience shown highlights of a particular day. Each family stays in the house for six days in which time Tanya monitors them all for one day before having very honest and direct discussions with the parents about the issues and how they can be dealt with, and then guiding the families through courses of action, exercises and deliberate changes of behaviour on the parents' side to deal with the problems. Tanya does not do this entirely singlehandedly, as one element of the programme is the support the parents receive from the other families who are in the house with them at the same time.
The show is characterised by: scenes of children misbehaving, therapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
sessions between Tanya and the parents of the children (which are often very emotional and are sometimes the first time they've ever really discussed the problems they're facing), tasks in and outside the house which the families are set to help them practice the skills they've learnt (often having to do things they would normally find difficult, like take a child with eating problems to a restaurant) and by the ending, the families review any improvements or shortcomings they've made.
In 2007, Byron stated that she did not want to make any more television programmes on parenting as it had become "a well-marketed area".
Am I Normal?
In 2008 Tanya presented a four part series called Am I Normal?Am I Normal?
"Am I Normal?" is a programme which is broadcast on Radio Four, presented byVivienne Parry. It enjoyed a brief airing on BBC television, when it was presented by Tanya Byron,but is more commonly presented on Radio Four. It deals with issues surrounding how far measures of characteristics, both...
" exploring the boundaries of acceptable behaviour. The episodes explore the themes of addiction, faith, sex and body image. The program presents both behaviours and treatments which Dr Byron is able to explore objectively but with some common sense cynicism. Is having sex with 5000 men within the range of normal behaviour? Is being attracted to pre-pubescent girls okay if you don't act on that attraction in a way that harms or coerces them? Are sex addiction or addiction to computer games real physiological addictions? Is hearing God different to hearing voices? These are the questions that she explores, without yielding to the temptation to give easy answers. This was based on the radio series presented by Vivienne Parry
Vivienne Parry
Vivienne Mary Hunt Parry, OBE is a science journalist.-Early life:She was educated at St Swithun's School, Winchester, an independent girls' school...
.
Radio
Byron has presented All in the MindAll in the Mind (BBC radio)
All in the Mind is a half-hour magazine radio program about psychology and psychiatry, produced by the BBC's Science Unit. It is currently presented by Claudia Hammond. Former presenters have included Dr Raj Persaud, Dr Kwame McKenzie, and Dr Tanya Byron, and the first presenter Professor Anthony...
, a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
magazine radio programme about psychology and psychiatry.
External links
- Interview with Tanya at Raisingkids.co.uk
- Interview with Tanya about her own experiences as a parent at Timesonline
- Meet the Author Tanya Byron discusses her book
- The Byron Review website
- Dr Tanya Byron in Conversation BAFTA webcast, discussing the Byron Review
- Tanya Byron’s profile at The Edge Hill University