Jamie Johnson: Has The CBBC Show Helped Promote Real Life Problems?
 

Most, if not some football-obsessed kids will have heard of the name Jamie Johnson. The popular book series by Dan Freedman was turned into a TV show in 2017 and the fifth season has recently finished. Over the years, Jamie Johnson has been a very popular CBBC show, with millions of viewers tuning in every week.

But deep inside the core of what seems like such a normal TV show, a lot of issues that are usually kept taboo are covered over all five series. Jamie Johnson just looks like another TV show about a kid who loves football, with a little bit of drama similar to that of your average Premier League player.

However, a lot of issues arise in Jamie Johnson that people brush aside without knowing. Most of the viewers share Jamie’s jokes and learn about his skills, or just enjoy the programme. Because they are young kids. But some of the older viewers aren’t like that. Being an older kid myself, I know more about these topics and can see different depth in the show.

It starts straight from the off, in Season 1. A young Jamie sees a man kiss his mother in one of the episodes, and when he feels suspicious and looks for his dad, he sees his dad with a child and a wife. He instantly feels angry. Divorce is a massive thing and this scene suggests that his dad and mum have broken up, Jamie cannot take it and he is upset and confused, which is how many people may feel.

In other seasons, we see Jamie’s best friend Jack get told she can’t play on the school team because she is a girl, blatant sexism from bully coach Hansard. We also see what a full panic attack looks like in Season 5 when a stressed out Boggy [ Jamie’s best mate] gets into a state because of some work he can’t do, and we also see Dillon [ the school bully] in Season 2, he is diagnosed with diabetes and in Season 5, he questions his sexuality and comes out to his mates as gay, so his dad kicks him out the house. 

The biggest list of real life problems is shown in Season 3. Jamie’s estranged dad Ian Reacher is homeless, student Wozza [ Walter Worthington] has ADHD, student Zoe’s mum has MS. In the show, Zoe even goes on to tell her friend this, quoting:

‘ She’s got MS. It’s no big deal’

Zoe knows full well that it is a big deal.


 

Even if it just looks like a normal TV show, Jamie Johnson really does, and will continue to promote real life problems