In her new documentary, BBC presenter Emma Barnett lays bare the brutal reality of living with endometriosis, a condition affecting one in ten women of reproductive age in the UK. The film captures Barnett at the end of her tether, grappling with excruciating pain and a medical system that has long failed women. With no cure in sight, the only treatments—hormones or surgery—offer limited relief, and diagnosis takes an average of nine years.
Barnett’s candid video diaries show her unable to get out of bed, contrasting sharply with her professional success. She meets women like Mada, who was misdiagnosed with appendicitis, IBS, and PMS before a laparoscopy confirmed endometriosis. The relief of validation brings Mada to tears. Another woman, Chloe, paid for surgery in Dubai and requested a hysterectomy due to her desperation, echoing Lena Dunham’s account in Famesick.
The documentary confronts the systemic neglect of women’s pain. Barnett challenges former health secretary Wes Streeting, who acknowledges medical misogyny but offers little concrete change. Despite the condition costing the UK economy £12.5bn annually through lost work, funding for research remains scarce. Barnett’s interview with Dr Lucy Whitaker highlights how endometriosis is overlooked because it doesn’t kill—a maddening value system Barnett greets with a sardonic smile.
This necessary film is deliberately infuriating and deeply moving. While Streeting gives sympathetic assurances, Barnett insists on substantial commitments. The documentary ends not with optimism, but with a clear message: women’s pain must no longer be dismissed.
