{"id":10586,"date":"2016-08-12T10:38:40","date_gmt":"2016-08-12T14:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/my-life-i-am-leos-leo-waddell\/"},"modified":"2016-08-15T09:36:21","modified_gmt":"2016-08-15T13:36:21","slug":"my-life-i-am-leos-leo-waddell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/my-life-i-am-leos-leo-waddell\/","title":{"rendered":"My Life: I Am Leo\u2019s Leo Waddell"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fifteen-year-old Leo Waddell\u00a0talks to\u00a0<\/em>TV Kids\u2019s Anna Carugati about what it was like to work on the CBBC docuseries <\/em>My Life: I Am Leo\u00a0and\u00a0shares some of his experiences as a transgender person.<\/em><\/p>\n

At about 18 months old, Leo Waddell started to feel like a boy trapped in a girl\u2019s body. At the age of 5, and with support from a loving family, Waddell began to live as a male, officially changing his name from Lily to Leo when he was 11. Two years later, Waddell became the subject of a CBBC documentary series,\u00a0My Life: I Am Leo<\/em>, which followed the teen as he received hormone treatments and learned what it means to be transgender. The Nine Lives Media production aired in 2014 as part of CBBC\u2019s anti-bullying week campaign. It went on to receive a BAFTA award in 2015 and an International Emmy Kids Award this year.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0How did\u00a0My Life: I Am Leo<\/em>\u00a0come about?
\nWADDELL:<\/strong>\u00a0It was my idea originally. BBC approached me and I thought it was the perfect opportunity\u00a0\"***Image***\"because I\u2019ve been on telly a few times before and I love sharing my story. [My life, which used to be] really negative, went on to become really positive and I think it\u2019s a good thing to share to raise more awareness for trans people. In primary\u00a0<\/strong>school I was really quiet about my feelings, but as soon as I hit high school, I was really open about it. In primary school I had a really, really horrible time. In high school, I\u2019ve had the best time and I just thought, it\u2019s because being aware makes people accept you and you don\u2019t get such a hard time for it. [So I wanted to go] to the media and help other people who are in my situation.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0What was the filming process like?
\nWADDELL:<\/strong>\u00a0They gave me my own camera\u00a0<\/strong>to do video diaries and then I had to report like once a week, just talking about my days. [The producers were] really lovely people; it was suggestions from my side, their side, and then we decided together. It was really good. They didn\u2019t force me to do anything I didn\u2019t want to do. If I went, Nah, I just want to chat with my mate, they wouldn\u2019t record it. They didn\u2019t fake anything, didn\u2019t put anything I didn\u2019t say in there; it was all my words and it was all up to me what happens.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0What\u2019s next for your transition process? You\u2019re still on the hormone-blockers, right?
\nWADDELL:<\/strong>\u00a0Just till the end of this year, hopefully, because then I\u2019ll be on testosterone after I turn 16 in November. That\u2019s when I can get testosterone and then [eventually] operations. I have a massive fear of blood tests, but it\u2019s what you\u2019ve got to do to get what you want!<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0Do you plan on making any other TV shows or documentaries?
\nWADDELL:<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019m thinking of one to continue my journey, because obviously I\u2019ve got a lot more things happening. I\u2019ve got the testosterone and the operations and I hope they are followed and documented.\u00a0<\/strong>I hope [it will be with the BBC] because they are such a lovely company.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0Have you kept in touch with other trans kids that you\u2019ve met since the documentary came out?
\nWADDELL:<\/strong>\u00a0I talk on Facebook and things like that, but there\u2019s also an event in Brighton called Trans Pride. We go there and we all meet up; I meet loads of new trans people there.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0Have you met with kids whose families are not as accepting and as loving as yours has been?
\nWADDELL:<\/strong>\u00a0Yeah, I\u2019ve spoken to a lot. Most of the time, I say: The only thing you can do is be true to yourself and if they can\u2019t accept you, then they\u2019ve lost a really good son or daughter.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0Do you think public awareness about transgender issues in the U.K. is starting to change?
\nWADDELL:<\/strong>\u00a0Absolutely. Before, I never heard of transgender apart from one show and that was the one show that [made me think], Yes, that is me. And since I\u2019ve done my show, I\u2019ve seen a lot more and I just feel like awareness is being raised now.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0Besides bullying, what would you say are the biggest obstacles for a kid who wants to come out as being transgender?
\nWADDELL:<\/strong>\u00a0Telling people is probably one of the hardest things. Toilets and changing, those are hard too, but I think the hardest bit probably is telling.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0Does your school allow you to follow the gender you feel you are, or are you forced to go into the girls\u2019 bathroom?
\nWADDELL:<\/strong>\u00a0I use the boys\u2019 toilet. I had a teacher who was\u00a0<\/strong>really good and he was like, I think we\u2019re being old-fashioned and I think you should be able to use whatever you want. And no one has said anything; all the boys think it\u2019s all right. I\u2019ve been accepted [as Leo in high school] since the start.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0What do you want to do after high school?
\nWADDELL:<\/strong>\u00a0I want to work in media when I\u2019m older because that would be a really good job for me. But in college I think I\u2019m going to study psychology because if I don\u2019t go into media, I want to be able to [become a] specialist and help people in my situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 15-year-old talks about what it was like to work on the CBBC docuseries and shares some of his experiences as a transgender person.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,21],"tags":[433,1631,1632],"class_list":["post-10586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","category-top-stories","tag-cbbc","tag-leo-waddell","tag-my-life-i-am-leo","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nMy Life: I Am Leo\u2019s Leo Waddell - TVKIDS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/my-life-i-am-leos-leo-waddell\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My Life: I Am Leo\u2019s Leo Waddell - 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