Baz Ashmawy has said that he felt quite ‘low’ after making his upcoming documentary about gambling.
All Bets Are Off focuses on Ireland’s relationship with gambling and how it has affected people.
The presenter says that part of the problem lies with the stigma attached to it.
“Nobody talks about it, we all think there’s no problem.”
He told TV Now that he found it very hard to get people to speak to him for the show.
“I’ve been making documentaries for 20 years, but I’ve never found it as hard as making this one. Trying to get people to talk, you’d swear I was making a programme on paedophilia. I couldn’t get over how difficult it was to get people to talk on camera.”
Speaking about why gambling is such a part of Irish life, he said: “It’s just very normalised in Ireland… Listen, I have betting apps on my phone, loads of lads do, it just seems to be very normal but there’s such a huge amount of shame with problem gambling that nobody talks about it.”
The star also admitted that he felt down after making the documentary and that he hopes to work on something more light-hearted next.
“I’m starting to pick up now, but I felt quite low after making this. I felt quite sorry for these people, even though a lot of them have recovered, but it’s a massive problem that seems to be completely ignored.”
All Bets Are Off airs on April 23rd on RTE One.
