BBC presenter Emma Barnett has turned the camera on herself in a new documentary, 'Emma Barnett: Fighting Endometriosis', which airs on the BBC. The film offers an unflinching look at the debilitating condition, which affects one in 10 women of reproductive age in the UK. Barnett, 41, has reached the end of her tether with the pain and the medical establishment's response to it.
The documentary features candid video diaries of Barnett in her pyjamas, unable to get out of bed, and interviews with other sufferers. One woman, Mada, is shown undergoing a laparoscopy, where keyhole surgery reveals endometriosis gluing her insides together. The relief at finally being diagnosed, after years of being misdiagnosed with appendicitis, IBS and PMS, is palpable.
Barnett also meets 26-year-old Chloe, who paid for surgery in Dubai and requested a hysterectomy in the UK due to her desperation. The documentary highlights the lack of funding for research, with Barnett quizzing Dr Lucy Whitaker at the University of Edinburgh on why there have been so few advances in treatment. The answer: endometriosis doesn't kill anyone, though it costs the UK economy £12.5bn a year through women leaving the workforce.
The film includes a conversation with then-Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who acknowledges the medical misogyny at the heart of society. Barnett insists on substantial assurances, which he gives. However, the documentary ends on a sombre note, as Barnett considers a hysterectomy herself, having already undergone IVF to have two children. The programme is a necessary, infuriating and moving look at a condition that turns life into a 'living death'.
