A mother’s hope
Ross Kemp celebrates the volunteers who are doing their bit during the pandemic
Can an operation save BillieJoe and Josh’s
Army veteran Colonel Tom Moore became a national hero as a result of his fundraising efforts on behalf of the NHS. And up and down the country, an army of volunteers are doing their bit to help out during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In BBC1’s Ross Kemp and Britain’s Volunteer Army, the EastEnders star-turneddocumentarymaker tells the stories behind voluntary initiatives around the UK, and celebrates the way in which we’re all pulling together during the crisis.
‘We’ve been meeting what we call Britain’s volunteer army,’ says the 55-year-old. ‘And that could be a million-plus people. We don’t know the true figures.’
With equipment desperately needed for front-line staff, Ross talks to some of the people trying to make up the shortfall.
unborn baby?
‘There’s a group of 400 ladies with sewing machines who are making scrubs, and they are going straight on to the front line,’ he explains. ‘And we visited a school’s design-andtechnology department – together with other people in the region, plus local factories, they have made 25,000 protective face masks that go to the NHS!’
Elsewhere, Ross says, people are finding different ways in which to give us all a much-needed lift.
‘There’s a group of musicians in Cardiff who play after the clap-out every Thursday,’ he reveals.
Ross also admits making the show has proved uplifting.
‘What’s touched me is the generosity of the British public,’ he says. ‘My big hope is that this will carry on after this pandemic has passed.’
Young couple Billie-Joe and Josh have been together for four years and are delighted to be expecting a baby. But there’s shocking news at BillieJoe’s 20-week scan.
She has a rare twin pregnancy, known as TRAP sequence, which means one of her unborn twins has no heartbeat. As blood vessels connect the twins, surgeon Professor Mark Kilby, a leading expert in surgery on babies in the womb, needs to operate to save Billie-Joe’s healthy baby. The surgery is cutting-edge and risky, and could end in tragedy…
‘At our 20-week scan, they said there was an anomaly.
At the next scan, the doctor told us there was a twin there but no heartbeat and no brain,’ recalls Billie-Joe, 19. ‘It’s scary knowing I could go into the operation and come out without a baby.
But I’ve got to give my baby the best chance at life.’
Devotion
Elsewhere, 22-year-old Lizzie is expecting her fourth child, but has discovered her baby will be born with a cleft lip and is unsure what to expect.
‘Darcy will be four to six months when she can have it repaired,’ explains Lizzie. ‘I’m scared, but I’m going to love her no matter what. Being a parent is intense.
You fall in love straight away!’
Meanwhile, for Billie-Joe, the week following the operation is critical. After an agonising wait, there’s good news – the surgery has been a success. Two months later, the couple welcome healthy baby girl Emma
Hope into the world!
‘We’re lucky,’ says Billie-Joe. ‘It could have gone one way or the other.’