Writer of Criminal Justice Has Eczema

Medically Reviewed by Jabeen Begum, MD on November 15, 2021
2 min read

Peter Moffat is the writer of the British TV series Criminal Justice. Before he was a famous writer, Moffat was a lawyer in the UK. Throughout his adult life, Moffat has suffered from severe eczema. 

Often feeling the intense itchy discomfort of eczema, Moffat learned how to cope with it in silence for much of his adult life. He says that he used to clandestinely scratch at it and try to hide it from others out of shame. 

It seems that Moffat has used his show, Criminal Justice to process his feelings about his own eczema. The main character who is also a lawyer experiences severe eczema in many of the same ways he did. As the show has gained viewership, Moffat has been more and more transparent about his own eczema, and eczema has played a more central role in the show. 

Moffat has even created a short film to raise awareness for what the everyday struggles of having severe eczema can look like. He included how uncomfortable it is, how isolating it is, and how much sleep you lose from having eczema. Moffat believes in speaking up about eczema so that we all can see it as a normal part of life. 

One specific moment in his show that people have particularly found inspirational is a moment when another character asks the main character about his eczema. The main character coolly replies “My doctor tells me to aerate my eczema,” and then informs the asker that it is not, in fact, contagious. Moffat hopes to promote confidence like this in everyday people around the world.