Gavin Esler

Personal family issue covered on the BBC....

As part of the BBC's Cancer week, Gavin's daughter, Charlotte, talked about her experience of dealing with cancer.

She was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma last November at the age of 14, and, after months of treatment, she is now in remission.

See the reports on News24

or

Here

(Apologies in advance if this is thought unsuitable for TVF)

It's on the Six later.

Why, I wonder, did it have to be Gavin's daughter who got the coverage?

Surely they could have found somebody "ordinary" to have talked about it?

The nepotistic nature of the report rather put me off.

How is Gavin's daughter not "ordinary"?

She is the daughter of a BBC person. I think they should have got somebody completely separate.

But the point is that in the end she is a completely ordinary 14-year-old. While I think there will be more 'ordinary people' stories later in the series, there is absolutely nothing wrong with interviewing Gavin's daughter about it. It's hardly as if they're A-list celebrities - she's a fourteen-year-old daughter of a journalist. Sounds perfectly ordinary to me.

According to today's Newsnight newsletter...



Her father's probably going to have a run for his money...

I think that it is an interesting piece. All BBC viewers will know Gavin Esler, thus making it a story which virtually all viewers will therefore be able to relate to, in some way. It is a quite remarkable point that the family agreed to do this, and have their very much private story told so publically - it should be much appreciated by all.

You have got that comment 100% wrong.

In order to relate to the story, you need to have been through the same as the child, or something extremely similar.

There's no way Mr Average Viewer is going to relate to that story just because the person at the centre of it happens to be the daughter of a BBC reporter.

In order to relate to that story, you need to have spent four hours at a time, over six sessions in twelve weeks, sitting in a chemotherapy suite, waiting for the remainder of the drugs to drip in, hoping to goodness that you can hold off from throwing up all over the floor until, at least, you get home and can do it in private.

I see your point Mr. Nick but there will be plenty of people who would be able to relate to him. There are many mothers and fathers out there who've had to watch their child go through the trauma of radio and/or chemo therapy. It's difficult watching a loved one suffer and being totally helpless. It's even worse when that child is 3 years old, and that child says mummy kiss me better, but, No matter how many kisses mummy gives their child the cancer just won't go away. No parent wants to outlive their child. It's great his daughter now has her cancer in remission.
Whether they'rehigh profile or Joe Bloggs from the rough end of town Cancer effects people in pretty much the sameway.
I've not had cancer myself yet but i've watched 3 loved ones fight the disease. I've lost 2 out of 3 to it.
It doesn't matter how much money you have or what Mummy and Daddy does for a living at the end of the day we're all only human. Except for Prince Harry of course.Who's not allowed to fight in Iraq because he's far too precious.

Nick,
I totally comprehend your point and fully appreciate what you have said. I was just pointing out that to a certain extent, it would be a story that viewers would find relatable - and obviously, sadly, some much, much more than others. But any story that features a 'name' or a 'face' instantly makes it more 'real', more captivating. I hope that I make myself clear in this. It is an incredibly sensitive and sad issue, it is a horrific topic to think about, never mind discuss.

Somebody, earlier in this thread, indicated that the people featured later in the week would be "ordinary".

With that in mind, I took the trouble to watch the following day's offering.

The cancer patient the following day was............ wait for it.............. a make-up artist on EastEnders.

I'm sorry, but any very tiny bit of credibility the Beeb might have had left after the Esler family outing, went straight down the plughole when we were treated to fifty seconds in every minute of the next report being pictures of the Queen Victoria and Albert Square, rather than the girl who'd actually had cancer.

No, sorry, BBC, why not be truthful next time and call it "Giant BBC Plug Week", rather than "Cancer Week".

Everyone is ordinary, who cares if they have cancer and work for the BBC or on the checkouts at your nearest Tesco, they are still ordinary people.