BBC show’s representation of horror illness strikes a chord
A storyline from a popular British soap opera has been touted as the “most realistic depiction” of a debilitating condition “ever seen” on television.
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A storyline from a popular British soap opera has been touted as the “most realistic depiction” of a debilitating condition on television “ever seen”.
BBC’s Waterloo Road recently aired a storyline where character Tonya Walters was fainting in school and had unbelievably painful periods.
She even ended up in hospital, and when she brought up the possibility of having endometriosis she was told “not to trust everything online” and it couldn’t possibly impact her due to her young age.
Tonya was bedridden, crying and her mother was the only one advocating for her. Her friends even turned on her for being “dramatic”, saying her constant complaining was getting “boring” for them.
Eventually, Tonya’s ovary was removed due to the damage and her suspicions were confirmed.
“I wasn’t making it up,” she said tearfully.
“If only they listened.”
The storyline originally aired in October 2024 but due to Endometriosis Awareness Month in March, the powerful scene been shared again. The response has been overwhelming, with some calling it the “most realistic depiction” of the debilitating condition ever shown on television.
“Best storyline ever, I’d recommend watching the whole season if you can. My experience down to a T! And Jason Manford’s patronising smile after the nurse saying you can’t believe everything online is just so real,” one social media user commented.
Another commented: “‘Unlikely given your age’ kills me … I was barely 16.”
“Well done to Waterloo Road, and this incredible young actress for taking on this important storyline. This will be far too familiar for far too many women,” reality television star Vicky Pattison commented.
One said: “Gosh this is so triggering. Like your childhood playing back in your head. Amazing acting and so good it’s being shown in a TV drama. Made me cry.”
“Brilliant. This 100 per cent tracks and is so needed on mainstream TV. It took me 20 years from my first appointment to get a diagnosis and surgery. I’m now 38 and have only just had my first surgery,” one commented.
One commented: “This is like watching a memory, the fainting at school is so real.”
“This is why we need to learn about these things in sex education, because knowledge means males can understand, and females can advocate for themselves in a system that was never designed with them in mind,” one said.
Another added: “This is brilliant. I got so used to pain that when I had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy it wasn’t recognised and I got sent home to die – my husband reminds me of that dad in the room! Didn’t know how to advocate for me.
“Ended up having a life saving huge OP … but endometriosis is simply still not recognised enough or that every woman simply has a different body and the way they cycle / everything needs readdressing.”
Dr Theresa Larkin weighed in on the video, saying the clip had many good elements in it but also pointed to the fact it was dramatised for television.
Dr Larkin said: “It’s important we see the suffering that endometriosis can cause and the impact it can have on people’s lives, school and work and the extent of the pain.”
She said that there were extremities in the show – for instance the horrible comments from friends such as “it’s getting a bit boring”, which the associate professor in medical sciences at the University of Wollongong said she hoped wasn’t the norm.
She also pointed out the character fainting, being rushed to hospital and having her ovaries removed was an extreme case and while it did happen to some people it wasn’t one that impacted the majority.
However, she pointed out the show does make an effort to demonstrate that pelvic pain during a period isn’t normal, and often women are dismissed and it can take up to five years to get diagnosed.
Originally published as BBC show’s representation of horror illness strikes a chord
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