Review: In conversation with Reggie Yates

Unseen: My Journey by Reggie Yates. (BBC Books, £18.99)

First stop of the book tour…Manchester.

Reggie Yates came to The Lowry in Salford last Wednesday to promote his first book, Unseen, My Journey.  

He fronted his first documentary, Autistic Superstars in 2011 and has since been establishing himself as an immersive documentary maker. The most recent series, The Insider sees the star immerse himself into some of the world’s most dangerous and threatening environments.  

The theatre was full of chatter as the audience waited for Reggie to enter on to the stage. The event had been hyped up over all of his social media accounts on the run up to the tour.

A lot of the audience were around twenty years of age, representing the generation that grew up watching him on various TV shows. Towards the end of the show, we were given an opportunity to take the floor and ask our own questions. This interaction made the show a lot more personal. Reggie also stayed behind after to sign copies of books and take photographs, which we were all very pleased about! 

As the interview got under way, it quickly began to feel more like watching a chat amongst friends.

Mim went into depth about Reggie’s resistance to begin documentary making due to his background as a young, working-class, black man. Reggie went on to explain that the BBC agreed that this was exactly why he should be fronting documentaries. 

Reggie Yates at The Lowry

Reggie’s personality shone through the entirety of the interview, revealing his humorous side. He told stories of partying with Busta Rhymes and his love for interior design. 

A anecdote that really stuck with me, was when he was talking about his return from visiting slums in Kenya as part of a BBC film Famous, Rich and in the Slums. When he arrived back to the UK, he felt sick at the comparison of how privileged we are as a nation compared to those in third world countries. As a collector of shoes, he explained how he had a room in his flat dedicated to his collection. He said after taking one look at that room he made the decision to box up every single pair and ship them to the slums.  

The book includes more stories like this, as it reveals how entering the world of documentary making has molded both his perception on the world and of himself. 

You can buy Reggie’s new book, Unseen, My Journey here, or you can listen to the audio book here.