A Surprise Opportunity
It’s not every day that you get approached by the BBC to feature on national television, so when a producer reached out to me via LinkedIn, I was both excited and intrigued. They were working on a segment about myopia and had already lined up experts like Annegret Dahlmann-Noor and an optician to discuss the topic. But they wanted someone with firsthand experience of living with myopia and managing it—naturally, I suggested my daughter, Lily.
What followed was a fantastic conversation with the producers, where I shared my journey: from wearing glasses as a child to becoming a high myope, struggling with vision problems as I got older, and then my lightbulb moment when I met Jason Higginbotham (co-founder of Myopia Focus). Jason opened my eyes—literally and figuratively—to what myopia really is, the risks of progression, and the fact that treatments exist to slow it down. I had never heard about myopia management before, and I was determined that other parents should. The BBC team agreed that we had a great story to tell.
A Race Against Time
There was just one catch—filming was scheduled for London in just two days time. No problem, I thought, we’d make ourselves available. Then came an unexpected hurdle: Lily needed a performance licence from the council to miss half a day of school for filming. And those take 21 days to process.
The producers reluctantly told me they couldn’t include Lily in the segment and had to explore alternatives. It was frustrating—she wasn’t acting or performing, she was speaking about a cause she’s passionate about. Her school was happy for her to participate, so the rule didn’t seem fair.
On a whim, I emailed the council, not expecting much.
The next day, I received an unexpected call from a lovely lady who confirmed I was right—a licence wasn’t needed! She went out of her way to help, even calling the producers herself to explain. Minutes later, the BBC called back: "We’re good to go!"
To say Lily was excited would be an understatement.
Filming Day
We arrived in London and met the production team at Zack’s Eye Clinic in Fitzrovia, a stunning opticians specialising in myopia management. While the camera crew captured some B-roll footage, we chatted with the presenter Rebecca Wilcox. She was incredibly warm and put us at ease by giving Lily some brilliant career advice—especially valuable as Lily has dreams herself of acting and presenting one day.
We both thought we’d be filming inside the clinic, but then—curveball number two—we were told we’d be shooting outside in Fitzrovia Square. And that’s why, in the final segment, you’ll see me walking down the street with my work laptop bag still on (facepalm moment). Apparently, it looked more natural this way!
The Challenges of Filming in London
Filming in a public space came with its own set of challenges. Bin lorries, construction workers, angle grinders, curious onlookers… and, of course, a man cycling past with a huge 80s-style boombox blasting reggae at full volume. Because, why not?
Oddly, all these interruptions made me feel more relaxed. We filmed for about an hour, but as expected, only a few minutes made it into the final cut. Unfortunately, some of the things I really wanted to mention—like Myopia Focus and our Change.org campaign—didn’t make it in. That was a little disappointing, but understandable.
Myopia Awareness - The Final Cut
Despite the edits cutting out my mentions of Myopia Focus, I thought the piece turned out brilliantly and it effectively communicated some key messages which can only increase myopia awareness in the UK:
Myopia is more than just short-sightedness—it’s a progressive disease with long-term risks.
Axial elongation (eyeball growth) is the real problem, and managing it is crucial.
Treatments are available.
Parents should take their children for regular eye tests.
For Myopia Focus, getting these messages across to a national audience was an incredible opportunity. It was also a really fun experience, and hopefully, it encouraged a few more people to learn about myopia management. If that's you, reading this? Don't leave yet - have a read, talk to your friends about myopia, and sign our petition on change.org
Would I do it again? Absolutely. But next time, I’ll leave my laptop bag behind and wear a nicer coat!
Comments