Tourette's campaigner reveals TV star moved to Scottish Borders to shadow him ahead of upcoming movie
The Pavilion Cinema in Galashiels is hosting a special screening of I Swear on October 4th...
Last updated 16th Sep 2025
He's a familiar face to millions of people on TV screens around the world.
Among his many credits, English actor Robert Aramayo has appeared as both a young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones and a younger Elrond in The Rings of Power.
But, Greatest Hits Radio can reveal, the dedicated star lived secretly in the Scottish Borders for THREE MONTHS as he studied for his latest part.
The 32-year-old plays the lead role in upcoming movie "I Swear" - which tells the true life story of local caretaker John Davidson, and his struggles with Tourette syndrome, growing up in Galashiels.
It follows the publication of a similarly titled book offering "extraordinary insight" into what it's like to live with a severe form of the neurological condition, which can cause sufferers to make sudden, repetitive sounds or movements, known as tics.
But John - who was awarded an MBE for his work to raise awareness of Tourette's in 2019 - admits keeping Aramayo's presence under wraps wasn't easy.
"Rob is a method actor and wanted to be part of my day-to-day life to learn (more about the condition) and become me for the film," he told us.
"He rented accommodation in Scott Street and spent most days with me; he was looking at how I walked, how I talked, how I held myself; my mannerisms - everything about me.
"And he has smashed it, big time!
"People who have seen previews of the film have said to me: 'If you close your eyes and listen, you would think that's you ticking on the TV. The way you walk, the way you talk, the way you hold the (key) fob in your hand, and that kind of stuff' - he's got it absolutely spot on."
But he added: "Rob said from the start: 'When we're out together in public, please don't introduce me as an actor, just introduce me as a friend visiting.' So, that's what we did. But I found that so, so difficult!"
WATCH: Click on the link below to view the movie's official trailer...
Directed by BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Kirk Jones - of Waking Ned and Nanny McPhee fame - I Swear boasts an award-winning cast which includes Scottish stars Peter Mullan (Trainspotting, Braveheart) and Shirley Henderson (Harry Potter), as well as Shameless actress Maxine Peake.
John also got to offer his expert insight after being appointed Executive Producer.
"It's a really surreal experience having a book and a film made about your life, that you've at one point really struggled with," he reflected.
"But my whole journey has been about learning how to live with Tourette's, accepting the condition, and trying to educate and raise awareness as much as I can from a lived experience."
Affecting around one in every 100 children, it is estimated that over 300,000 people in the UK have Tourette syndrome.
Born in the 1970s, John was just ten when his tics first arrived, as if from nowhere.
Previously a happy, popular, football-mad boy he was labelled disruptive, rude, and even mad.
As his condition progressed, from blinks and jerks to involuntary rude and obscene shouting, John was bullied, rejected - alienated from his family and a society that had no idea what to make of him.
Hospitalized and drugged for months, it was only an extraordinary and transformative friendship, and John’s dogged optimism, that turned his life around, making I Swear an inspirational story of triumph over adversity.
Speaking to us on his break at Langlee Community Centre, John said: "There's been stigmas created over the years that if you have Tourette syndrome you must shout and swear. But the fact is only ten per cent of people with Tourette's have coprolalia (involuntary vocal tics).
"There are people out there who have Tourette's who don't have coprolalia, and they can feel quite offended if people say to them: 'Oh, do you swear?' And they're like: 'I don't have that part of the condition'. And people are like: 'You must be faking it then.'
But he added: "Why would you fake a condition that creates misery, sadness, loneliness...?
"What we're trying to do is fake being okay. We are just the same as everyone else but we feel too much, we see and hear too much. It's just a huge mixing pot of emotions.
"If you want to know what it's like to live with Tourette syndrome, watch the film and just stop and think: 'This could be a child of mine, a grandson or a nephew', and it's about remembering: Always be kind."
A special advance screening of I Swear is due to be shown at the Pavilion Cinema in Galashiels on October 4th.
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