Thirteen years have passed since the Andersons, cruelly labelled Dundee’s “fat family”, came to the attention of social services in the city.
Headlines across the UK followed, as did the removal of Andrew and Pamela’s seven children.
As the media glare faded, the pain only intensified.
A family ripped apart in public was left with the almost insurmountable challenge of rebuilding their lives in private.
They were never named in order to protect the identity of the children.
But 10 years after the kids were taken into care, their father and one of his daughters have chosen to speak exclusively to The Courier to have their voices heard.
Andrew Anderson, now 66 and living in Brechin, and his 25-year-old daughter Kerry Ann, from the Hilltown in Dundee, say the time has come to open up.
Why were they named the ‘fat family’?
Andrew and Pamela Anderson were living in the St Mary’s area of Dundee in 2008 and had six children, with another to follow shortly after.
Andrew was 53 and weighed 18 stone while Pamela was 42 and tipped the scales at more than 20 stone.
Kerry Ann, then aged 12, weighed 16 stone and her siblings were also deemed to be overweight.
Social workers warned the parents their children would be fostered or adopted if they did not lose weight.
A council report at the time said: ‘With the exception of [one of the names], the children are all overweight.
“Advice has been given regarding diet but there has been no improvement.
“Appointments with the dietician have been missed.”
‘They picked on us’
Following the 2011 decision to take the children into care, Pamela – who died in 2017 – said: “We might not be the perfect parents, but we love our children with all our hearts.
“To face a future where we will never see them again is unbearable.
“They picked on us because of our size to start with and they just haven’t let go, despite the fact we’ve done everything to lose weight and meet their demands.”
Council officers did not go into detail about the case but insisted a child’s weight would not be the only reason to take him or her into care.
An allegation Andrew had caused an injury to one of his children was found to be untrue.
He says he never recovered from losing his children.
“That was the start of the nightmare,” he said.
“To begin with we didn’t believe that we would actually lose our children – but unbelievably, ultimately we did.”
Five of the children were fostered and two – who Andrew hasn’t seen since – were adopted.
He fears he will die without ever seeing them again.
Andrew’s full story can be read here.
His daughter Kerry Ann has also opened up. Read her story here.
What did the authorities say in 2011?
When social services became involved, the family were moved into a supported unit run by the Dundee Families Project at a reported cost of over £100,000.
The lives – and weights – of the children were monitored but according to social services the children remained “dangerously overweight”.
At meal times, a social worker allegedly stood in the room taking notes.
The couple and their children also had to adhere to a strict 11pm curfew. This involved “clocking in and out” by filling in a sheet held by an employee who lived on-site.
In 2011, a city council spokesman said: “The council always acts in the best interests of children.
“We have always made it clear that children would not be removed from a family environment just because of a weight issue.”
Social workers defended decision
That same year, a spokeswoman for the Scottish Association of Social Workers stated: “Social workers always work closely with families before a child is removed from its parents and would only seek to recommend such a step where it is in the best interests of the child.
“Social workers are duty-bound to investigate circumstances where a child may be being abused or neglected but any major decision about their future will be taken by a court following due process and in the light of a thorough multi-disciplinary assessment.
“Social work professionals would be rightly criticised if they did not act where appropriate to the safeguard the very best interests of a child.”
She added: “There are many checks and balances in the system to make sure children are only removed from their parents’ care when there are no alternatives.
“Any action that is taken to remove a child from their parents care is only taken when it is considered in their child’s best interests.”
Family solicitor’s remarks
During the three-year investigation, the family’s solicitor was Joe Myles of Joe Myles and Co in Tay Street, Dundee.
He has declined to make any new comments about the case.
But at the time, he said the couple had not committed any crime and were not accused of deliberate cruelty or abuse.
He said there was “nothing sinister lurking in the background” and accused social workers of failing to act in the family’s best interests.
Myles said: “Dundee social services department appear to have locked horns with this couple and won’t let go.”
He claimed the monitoring project caused more problems than it solved.
The solicitor also said: ‘The parents were constantly being accused of bad parenting and made to live under a microscope.”
A Dundee City Council spokesman said this week: “We do not comment on individual cases, particularly those involving vulnerable adults and children.”