TVScope: Wonderland - The Madness of Dancing Daniel, February 6th, 9.50 pm, BBC2
With Valentine's Day looming and images of schmaltzy love everywhere, this documentary was evidence of a more practical love. Daniel is 29, but the chronic abuse and neglect he experienced as a child has left him so psychologically damaged, he has ended up in hospital under the care of Prof Tyrer, a psychiatrist who specialises in personality disorder.
Daniel is, the professor tells us, so complex that he is "several different people in one person". As well as his love of dancing, he is funny and articulate, but he can also be irritating and aggressive, with his behaviour fluctuating from erratic to dangerous. Tyrer describes individuals like Daniel with personality disorder as the "lepers of society, avoided by people because people know they're trouble".
Daniel, however, has had two strokes of luck in his troubled life. At nine, he was plucked from the hell of his childhood. A remarkable family adopted him, when his heroin-addicted mother overdosed, and they stood by him as his life slowly unravelled.
His disruptive behaviour led to him being expelled from school, fired from jobs which his adoptive father got for him, and he accidentally set fire to not one but two flats by drying his clothes on the cooker. His behaviour became so dangerous he had to be sectioned and detained under the Mental Health Act, and when we meet Daniel, he is on the brink of being admitted into a long-stay institution, as his behaviour has led to his placement in community homes breaking down.
His next stroke of luck was to be on the receiving end of Tyrer's tough love. He knows that the Daniels of this world tend to end up either in prison or institutions. He, however, passionately believes that, with placement in a flexible environment which would calm difficult behaviour, patients with personality disorders can live relatively normal lives in the outside world.
He puts his belief into action, and, after mountains of paperwork, finds a community home willing to take Daniel. But Daniel, terrified of change, is having none of it. He argues truculently with the professor, and comes up with lots of excuses as to why he can't go.
The professor is severely tested but is very firm, reminding Daniel that he is not in a good bargaining position. He puts it to him that if he sabotages this, his last chance for community placement, he will be placed in the long-stay ward. This works, as Daniel's fear of this is greater than his fear of change. His placement is, we are told, so successful, it is hoped he will soon be able to live independently.
The message from this documentary is that any system is only as good as the people who work in it, and in Tyrer we have an uplifting reminder of the extraordinary dedication of so many staff who are prepared to go that extra mile to help those in their care.
Review by psychologist Olive Travers