Brian Dowling is no stranger to online trolls. When VIP Magazine sits down with him to chat about life, he explains the reality of constantly dealing with negativity online.
He jokes that he and his Six O’Clock Show co-host, Katja Mia “trauma dump” to one another before every show by reading nasty messages.
But now with forums like Tattle Life being unmasked and more “trolls” and “cyberstalkers” being unmasked, it feels like there truly is a new age in social media.
Brian reveals that he will front a new Virgin Media documentary regarding trolling and online abuse, entitled Toxic Threads.
“We’re in pre-production at the moment,” he explains. “We’re going to be looking at social media, looking at platforms, and it stems from the unveiling of the Tattle owner.
“It’s just about how dangerous this is. We’re going to be sitting down with people who have been affected by this, people that you may know and then people that you do not know, who have regular jobs and whose lives have been tormented in the same way. It’s something I’m very, very passionate about.
“I’ve wanted to do something like this for a while, and from someone like myself who has lived it to the level I’ve lived it, it’s important.
“I’ve said that myself and Arthur are probably everything that people hate. My husband’s a refugee, he’s not from the country. We’re both gay with children via surrogacy, I think it’s a lot of stuff that those people do not like.”
He beams as he adds: “I’m so excited about this, and I’m very passionate about it. I want to get it right, and we want to get it right.”
So when can we expect Toxic Threads?
“We will be shooting it next year. It should be out hopefully late, springtime.”
Catch Brian Dowling on The Six O’Clock Show on Virgin Media every weekday with Katja Mia
