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Stars open up on what self-awareness means to them

A new video mini-series created by BAFTA ahead of Children’s Mental Health Week 2025 explores the importance of self-awareness for wellbeing.

A collage of pictures showing BAFTA Young Presenters Samaira Iqbal and Tristan Thompson sitting with Shanequa Paris, Chloe Lea and Jay Lycurgo
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BAFTA Young Presenters Samaira Iqbal (winner of BAFTA Young Presenter 2021) and Tristan Thompson (2024 winner) sit down with some well-known faces from film, television, and radio to reflect on this year’s theme: ‘Know Yourself, Grow Yourself’.

The stars talk about mental health and explore how developing their self-awareness has helped them to grow their confidence and a positive sense of self.  

The interviews are available on Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Week website and BAFTA’s YouTube channel.

Broadcaster Shanequa Paris shares what strategies she uses to allay her nerves.

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“I like to be in the know - know exactly what I’m doing, where I’m going, how I’m doing it, and who I’m doing it with. If I don’t have that information, then I’m very nervous; because it’s the unknown that scares me… [I do] research and forward planning, such as making sure I’ve got all the information I need before doing something new, so I don’t get those nerves.” Shanequa Paris

Actor Chloe Lea reflects on coping with difficult emotions.

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“Trusting yourself and acknowledging the feelings [is important]. I think it’s really easy to try and get rid of feelings as soon as you feel uncomfortable. But if you give yourself time to process them, then you can actually work with them and use that energy.” Chloe Lea

Actor Jay Lycurgo shares his thoughts on living with insecurities.

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“You never get rid of insecurities. I think they’re there and you just get used to it. Or life happens and you push forward and you talk to people... Communication is really important… Insecurities come and go. You’re always going to get new insecurities. I just think we get better at it as we get older. But no one needs to get too hard on themselves - we all have them.” Jay Lycurgo

On the videos, Catherine Roche, Chief Executive of Place2Be said:

“Since Place2Be first launched Children’s Mental Health Week in 2015, the campaign week has been embraced by thousands of schools, families, children and young people across the UK.

The theme this year is ‘Know Yourself, Grow Yourself’, with the aim to encourage children and young people to explore and embrace self-awareness and build the skills to help them thrive.

As we look this year to celebrate children and young people building their resilience, we’re delighted - once again - to have the support of our long-term partner BAFTA and their passionate Young Presenters."

“We hope these videos will inspire all children and young people to explore self-awareness and what it means to them, in helping to express and understand their emotions.” Catherine Roche, Chief Executive of Place2Be

More about Place2Be's partnership with BAFTA

This latest video project for Children’s Mental Health Week is part of the award-winning, ongoing partnership between BAFTA and Place2Be, who have been working together since 2016. As well as the videos for Children’s Mental Health Week, previous activity includes:

The most recent Roadshow to Surrey Square Primary School comprised a variety of interactive elements, including competitions, roundtable discussions, classroom meet-and-greets, as well as a presenting masterclass and a games design workshop.

BAFTA's Young Presenters competition

BAFTA is using the theme of Know Yourself, Grow Yourself to launch its annual competition to find the next BAFTA Young Presenters.

The competition opens on Monday 3 February to young people aged 10-18. Last year’s winners, Tristan Thompson and Kara Gillespie, will be on the red carpet at the BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises in May. They've hosted high profile events in Scotland and London, in addition to presenting digital content for BAFTA.

BAFTA have more information and details about how to enter the Young Presenters competition.