Christine McGuinness: Unmasking My Autism, review: this brave film speaks up for autistic women

There has been a marked rise in women being diagnosed with autism in recent years. Some are in the public eye. The TV presenter Melanie Sykes was diagnosed at the age of 51, and said her life had finally started to make sense. Anne Hegerty, quizzer on The Chase, received her diagnosis at 45, having watched a programme about the condition and recognised some of the traits in herself.



Christine McGuinness: Unmasking My Autism (BBC One) is a follow-up to a 2021 documentary in which she and her husband, presenter Paddy McGuinness, discussed their children’s autism. At the end of that programme, Christine was told that she had it too. In this new film, she explored what that means, and how the condition affects women in particular.

If the purpose of a documentary is to throw light on a subject, then this one was exemplary. Christine explained the many ways in which autism can manifest itself, but which are not immediately apparent to others. Sensory issues mean she prefers beige food and feels anxious in noisy places. She has a wardrobe of clothes bought not because she liked them, but because they fit the different “roles” she played in certain situations. A text message from a friend casually inviting her for lunch the following day would throw her into panic: “What time? Where? What are we eating? What are we wearing? Who’s going? How long am I there for? What time am I getting home?”



I learned for the first time about the links between autism and eating disorders, and why they often manifest in girls of secondary school age. Experts explained that the switch from the safety and security of primary school was a “perfect storm” – a larger, noisier environment with different teachers for each subject and break-times which involve milling around and chatting rather than playground games. A professor of psychology in eating disorders at the Maudsley Hospital assessed all of her patients and found that one-third met the criteria for autism.



Christine spoke of her own life with great bravery, revealing that she was sexually abused in childhood and relationships she had before meeting Paddy. The programme explained that autistic girls can struggle with the idea of consent – not knowing what behaviour is acceptable, not expecting people to lie, wanting to please in order to “fit in”.



She also discussed striking out on her own after the breakdown of her marriage, a daunting prospect for anyone but particularly for someone with this condition. Everyone who watched this programme will be rooting for her.