Laying It All Bare with Filmmaker & Author Lorna Tucker

 

Lorna Tucker is a celebrated filmmaker and author known globally for her work telling the stories of strong female protagonists. She also was once a homeless teenager on the streets of London in the 90s, exposed to things you could not even begin to imagine until you hear about them.

We met up with her during her visit to the Guernsey Literary Festival earlier this year to talk about perhaps the most important story she has to tell.

Her own.

Lorna Tucker is Listed.

 

Bare is an incredibly moving, detailed and gritty honest account of life on the streets of London. What do you want people to take from the book?

I want people to understand what leads kids to falling through the cracks to be able to understand more what can be done to stop the continuation. 

I wanted them to see, by holding my hand and walking through my life, the ripple effects of childhood trauma, and feel as I did at each point in my life, why I made the decisions that I did. But to also see how and why people who are struggling with mental health, addiction of homelessness were all just innocent children at one point. 

All crave love and acceptance. And how nobody who runs away and ends up on the streets thinks it will be a long term thing. But the longer you are there, the more open you are to devastating events that can take a lifetime (if you are lucky enough to survive, which the majority don’t) to heal from. 

And that my life wasn’t as fairy tale as the press makes out, using headlines such as Homeless to Filmmaker. It took me many setbacks, and 15 years to get sober after I managed to escape the streets. It took a lot of patience from others to get there. And starting my life over multiple times to finally get the right, specific help that I needed. That if this was more readily available to others trying to get out of addiction, or get off the streets, it would save others having to go through the same.

 

You have said you are drawn to female voices & stories... why do you think it is so important to tell women’s stories? And what made you want to turn inward and tell your story now? Did the process prove to be cathartic?

I think mainly because there is still so much stigma behind female homelessness, sex work, mental health and addiction. When male authors have written about it in the past, it’s often see as very rock and roll, and slightly sexy. But with women it is still seen as shameful and quite icky. I wanted to write something that showed the honesty behind it, but that life isn’t: I was crazy once, but now I’m ok and godlike.

I think that's what's always drawn me to female stories. We like to idolise people, and put them on a pedestal. I’m always looking to explore how we all feel the same pain, and no one on this Earth is truly confident. But I want to tell stories that hopefully inspire people to keep going, and follow paths that make them truly happy and live for the moment.

 

You have been homeless in two very different ways - on the streets as a teen & in a hostel as a young single mother. Do you feel that both situations could have been prevented (or solved) quicker with more support? If so, how?

Absolutely. The shame behind both was devastating in so many ways. On the streets, it was more physically horrific and painful. As a single mother in hostels, I was alienated from community, family and friends and that was destructive for my mental health and the wellbeing of my daughter. Then sofa surfing with my child when I couldn’t handle it anymore. 

The hardest part was feeling like I had to hide it from people as I was so embarrassed. And always being hungry, making sure my child ate first and living on her leftovers. You feel like you have failed them and it leaves you feeling very depressed.

It’s ridiculous that we are still not learning from past mistakes. We still haven’t built more affordable homes. And that the number of homeless families is worse than it’s ever been before. From hiding from my past, it’s given me energy to be more polite and vocal for those whose voices just aren’t heard.

 

We have a growing homelessness crisis in Guernsey, namely due to a lack of secure housing and rising cost of living. What would you say to someone who finds themselves in that situation?

I promise you it gets better. Keep pushing, and never be ashamed of the situation you are in. And ask for help.

 

 

You have said that you have lived many different lives, each stage broken by a relapse. We’ve noticed a lot of people in online comments saying “You’d never know her past to look at her now.” What would you say to those people?

It’s always been very important for me to really make an effort when I do public speaking - in the real world I do not look like that, and my life certainly isn’t glamorous. Those that know me well know how much I still struggle with my mental health. 

But I really want to stop this negative imagery of what homelessness looks like. I want to show that you can move on from it. That person you pass on the street, with the rights support, and acts of kindness could be me here today with time and patience.

 

A lot of the reasons for not going home in the book seem to be down to a vulnerable teenage brain thinking you couldn’t, but often aching for home, for mum etc. Does this awareness make you think differently as a parent?

Yes. But we still get it wrong no matter what we do! It has definitely made me very protective of my children and who I have around them. And to have child appropriate conversations with them around grooming and life. I just want them to spot the signs and situations with an understanding.

 

Of your first job at the hair salon you said, “I want to make sure I am so good that they will never not want to have me around.” Do you still have this attitude to your work? Or is there a young insecurity in this that you have grown out of?

Absolutely. I just found out my book went to No.1 on Amazon and I was like, god someone likes it! I struggle so much with confidence. Every script I write, when people love them I'm always still so surprised. And I always want everyone on my teams to feel appreciated and inspired, and I want people to want to keep working with me. 

I think that's a good attitude to have, but it doesn’t come from a needy place anymore, it comes from a place where I want everyone that crosses my path to feel valued. But I’m also very quick to remove people from my life who aren’t kind.

From a very young age, you unfortunately learnt to not trust men for a variety of reasons both at home and out in the world. We’re sure a few will have healed that belief since on a personal and professional level. Big question - but where do you think we are now in 2025 when it comes to the safety of women and girls?

I think we still have far to come. But I feel really positive as there is such a bigger understanding now between men and women, I have watched classes of boys grow up with my son into empathetic, gentle, kind teenagers that are so much more understanding of their own feelings. 

Obviously there is a real problem with personalities like Andrew Tate and the boys that look up to people like that, but there is also a conversation going on very publicly that wasn’t before. Film and media are such powerful tools to help understand where these problems arise from. I think that is why I have fallen into a career in film. Look at Adolescence for example. This really has exposed a culture that has been happening underground, and the effects it has on young boys.

Your story is one of strength and resilience. It’s about the big stuff in life. So... do you sweat the small stuff? And where do you stand on regret?

Oh god. Regret. There are so many things I wish I had done differently, but I've learnt not to dwell on them any more. I am definitely getting so much better at letting go. I know everything in my life now, and the work that I do is because of what I have seen and done. And right now I wouldn’t change a thing, apart from losing custody of my first daughter. My lifelong commitment now is supporting her and being consistent and solid for her.

But everything else has helped me focus on what I can do to help the masses that are going through that right this very moment.

To end, we always ask people what they love about living in Guernsey, but let’s switch it up for you - What excited you most about coming for an island escape in Guernsey? 

It was the most peaceful I had felt for such a long time. There is a magic in the air there, and the people are so friendly!

 

Lorna was in Guernsey to promote her autobiography Bare at the Guernsey Literary Festival.