“I think they showed us in a good light” – Chantelle on appearing on BBC1's ‘Growing up Gypsy’

Chantelle, who featured in the recent BBC documentary Stacey Dooley: Growing Up Gypsy, talks to Stacey Hodgkins from the Travellers Times about what it was like to appear on the show.

(Pictured above (centre) with Stacey Dooley and hubby Swaley)

 In Stacey Dooley: Growing Up Gypsy, TV presenter Stacey Dooley worked with women from the Gypsy and Traveller communities in the UK to offer a glimpse into what life is like for the women who featured in the show. Stacey spent time with the three women exploring how they navigate the challenges of keeping traditional values, while also welcoming aspects of modern life, social media and career aspirations.

A big part of Chantelle’s story in Stacey Dooley: Growing Up Gypsy was about her loss of her baby. I asked Chantelle if speaking openly about this on the show had helped and supported other Gypsy and Traveller women who are also going through the same thing.

“One hundred percent it has,” Chantelle told me, adding that she had received “thousands” of messages.

“So many have been from young girls to older women, they are going through exact same thing and saying how hard it is,” says Chantelle.

“Talking to so many women that have been through same thing helps, I think. It helps a lot with mental health to know I’m not alone in this; she’s going through it”.

But was Chantelle worried about appearing on the show – given how previous TV shows about Travellers haven’t always been that great?

“When I first got asked to do it, I was a bit wary about it,” admitted Chantelle.

I told them there’s questions I won’t answer - I won’t talk about, says Chantelle, adding that the production team respected her wishes and that she was made to feel at ease and comfortable during the filming.

“Stacey was lovely,” says Chantelle.

“We were having food (at my home) together. I said, ‘make yourself at home put your feet up’, but they were all lovely and respectful.”

I then asked Chantelle about what impact the show has had on her since appearing on the show, especially for her Tik Tok account and for those around her.

“I had someone message me saying that they had shown Stacey Dooley: Growing Up Gypsy in a course and it was nice to show it to younger generations and non-Travellers as well to show them that we all have different things we like,” says Chantelle.

“On Tik Tok my followers went up and a lot of people were positive. A lot more positive than bad.”

I ask Chantelle what she felt about how the show had represented Gypsy and Traveller women and the communities they come from.

“I think they showed us in a very good light, and we came across as genuine,” says Chantelle.

“We are family and it’s showing us as what we are family people. You know as people that are respectful and being brought up with good values”.

It was lovely to be able to meet with Chantelle online and hear her story and positive experiences of the show, and I agree with her about how the show represented the women who appeared on it as “genuine” people.  

I thought Stacey Dooley: Growing Up Gypsy was good, and that it was a much more positive and authentic view than some of the previous attempts by TV production companies to make popular shows about Gypsy and Traveller life for the big broadcasters.

Stacey Dooley: Growing Up Gypsy accurately portrayed a sense of how times are changing for our younger generations, and how barriers are being broken.

All the girls brought a different story and aspect and told it in a different way which made the show unique to the other TV shows that have been on in the past.

Growing up Gypsy appeared on BBC 1 on 13th March 2025 and is available for a year on BBC I Player, which can be seen here: Stacey Dooley - Growing Up Gypsy - BBC iPlayer

Interview and write up by Stacey Hodgkins for the Travellers Times

(All photographs courtesy of Chantelle)