Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Mungur Family

Two near-death experiences had cheated Nazeem Mungur of the life he once knew, and he was convinced moving down under could help him be the dad he once was.

Nazeem Mungur's injuries had left him a shadow of the parent and partner he wanted to be. A warmer climate, he believed, would make a big difference. But did the reality of life down under mean a move was nothing more than his pipe dream?

We followed dad Nazeem, mum Joanne and their two children Katy, who was five, and Tom, who was three, to discover if Australia could enable them to be the normal family they were all desperate to be.

When we first met the Mungurs they lived just outside Leeds. Nazeem and Joanne had tied the knot nine years previously, but one year on their lives had been thrown into turmoil. Nurse Joanne had been at work when she got a phone call to say Nazeem was in A&E because an electrical fault had set the house ablaze with Nazeem inside. It was a devastating time for the family as Nazeem was badly burned. But things were about to get much worse when two weeks later Naz was involved in a near-fatal car accident. Fighting for his life, Naz had to be cut from the car.

The couple were left struggling to comprehend their misfortune but slowly started to rebuild their lives. Eight years on and they had become a happy family of four with children Katy and Tom. But with Naz in constant pain, he found coping with the demands of a young family difficult. He was determined not to let life beat him and was convinced moving to Australia could help him claim back the life he wanted. Family holidays abroad had fuelled his belief that living in the sunshine would be the tonic he needed as he felt so much less pain and was more active in the heat. And ultimately Nazeem's main goal was to be a more of a hands-on dad with Katy and Tom.

But as the main breadwinner Joanne was nervous about upping sticks for another country they had never even visited. She was also worried about cutting off the strong family support network they had in the UK. They had seven days in Brisbane to find out if Nazeem was right and this was the place for them to be. Twelve months on and it's time to see where the Mungurs are living.

45 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Nicki Chapman
Executive Producer Paul Connolly
Production Manager Joy Hines
Series Producer Jacqui Berkeley

Broadcasts