REACHING FOR SKY, THE BIONIC TV HOST
Teenager lost hands to meningitis
A TEENAGER who lost her hands to meningitis as a baby has landed a role as a presenter on a Sky TV show.
Tilly Lockey, 14, was the first British child to use 3D-printed arms, which she has had since 2016.
She appeared on the children’s current affairs programme FYI: For Your Info to discuss her disability.
And producers were so impressed with her performance that they offered her a regular spot on the show.
The role will see her interview top politicians, including Boris Johnson, as well as reporting on issues affecting young people around the world.
The programme is filmed weekly for the Sky Kids platforms and Tilly, from Consett,
‘Everything is possible’
County Durham, has been offered an initial commission of 48 episodes.
She said: ‘It’s a great opportunity for me to report on the things I care about most, climate change, equal rights, racism and, of course, I hope I can inspire other kids with a disability that everything is possible. FYI is the only news show in the world where kids and teens get to have a say on the big issues and put those in power on the spot.’
Tilly suffered from meningococcal septicaemia B at just 15-months-old which resulted in her hands and the tips of her toes being amputated. She had tried various NHS prosthetics without success.
But Bristol company Open Bionics then produced Britain’s first clinically approved arm made with 3D-printing technology, which allows a computer to build a complex object out of plastic with pinpoint accuracy. The arm, made of a nylon polymer, contains sensors that detect muscle movements and is controlled by tensing the same ones used to flex a real hand.
Since then Tilly has been able to play piano and a video of her applying make-up went viral on the internet.
FYI is broadcast on Sky News, Sky Kids and Sky One during the holidays. Show producers said that after meeting Tilly they ‘loved her so much she is now joining the gang to help us investigate the big issues’.