Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson, who sparked a scandal at the BAFTAs after shouting the N-word, now has a range of his own merchandise
Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson has launched a range of sweary merch. John, 54, has helped create bottle openers, coasters and keyrings featuring his famous outbursts – including “sp**k for milk” and “yer dug’s got t**s”.
Davidson – portrayed in the film ‘I Swear’ – sparked a row at the Baftas after shouting the N-word during the live TV broadcast, which was not edited out by the producers.
He has now turned the ordeal into a good cause and helped create merchandise to raise money for charity Tourette’s Scotland.
Richard Howden, who owns Scottish Coo Creations with his wife Nina, got to know the Tourette’s campaigner as a teenager, attending the community centre where John worked in Galashiels in Scotland.
After witnessing the success of the film, Richard reached out to John, who was eager to collaborate.
Richard said: “I know John well from growing up in the same part of town – I went as a teenager to the community centre where he worked.
“I asked John if he fancied catching up, and then we discussed the opportunity of doing some stock to raise money for Tourette’s Scotland.
“I went to see the movie as soon as I could, and my wife read the book – we’d noticed that other people and websites were doing t-shirts, but not in connection with Tourette’s Scotland.
“There was the “sp**k for milk” quote, and when we were speaking to John, he mentioned about “yer dug’s got t**s, which is from a documentary he did several years ago, so we ended up using that as well.”
In a video shared on social media, John described the range as “absolutely fantastic.”
Richard and Nina, who started the business earlier this year, have been thrilled by the reception to the merchandise so far.
“Everybody’s been so positive about it,” said Richard.
“It’s been great to be able to make some money for Tourette’s Scotland and to spread the word about Tourette’s.
“People are understanding it a lot more right now in the UK, so that’s really good.
“We had no target in mind, as we’re just a small business, but we’d like to raise as much as we possibly can.
“It’s going to be great to be able to send that money over to Tourette’s Scotland at the end of the month – and hopefully for several months to come as well.”
Richard said he has a strong “sense of pride” to be able to contribute, and is glad to be able to support John in his work to raise awareness of the condition.
He added: “We feel really proud to be part of this.
“The more this is pushed, the more awareness there is – spreading the word and getting as much money to support people and help future medical breakthroughs as well.
“It gives you that lump in your throat to know that you’re doing something to help.”
To buy visit scottishcoo.co.uk