With Love From Cape Town. Joss Wood
her mouth. He resisted the temptation to pull it out again. She’d get over the habit in her own good time.
They were just in time to watch Robina’s entrance into the studio. She paused and smiled as the camera focussed in on her. She looks every bit the TV star, Niall thought proudly. She looked elegant in a floor-length gown that clung to her curves, a simple gold necklace highlighting the length of her neck, her height putting her at least a couple of inches above her host. For the programme she had chosen to dress in traditional African style and Niall thought she looked stunning.
As she settled into the chair the host Richard Christchurch held out for her, she appeared cool and at ease. They shared a couple of words off camera as they waited until the applause died down.
‘Robina. May I call you Robina?’ Richard asked. When she nodded he continued. ‘For those few viewers who don’t know you, could you tell us a little bit about your work?’
‘I present a weekly show called Life In Focus,’ Robina answered. ‘It’s a programme that covers a different medical topic every week.’
‘Could you tell us how you came to present the show?’
‘I am a qualified GP,’ Robina answered. ‘About a year ago, I had a book published—an-easy-to-read guide on infertility. When it came out, it was very well received and I was asked onto the show to talk about it. Shortly afterwards, the producer offered me the opportunity to present Life In Focus.’
‘Aren’t you a bit young to be offering medical advice on a range of topics?’
Robina smiled, her perfect teeth a flash of white against her deep copper skin. Niall felt something shift low in his belly. God, he loved her smile. It was one of the first things he had noticed about her. It lit up the room.
‘I have a team of experts who work with me. They provide most of the answers because you’re quite right—there is no way I could be an expert on all the different conditions we cover. All I do is translate the medical jargon into simple language the patients and viewers can understand. All of us have been in situations where we didn’t grasp everything the doctor was telling us, partly because we didn’t know the right questions to ask.’
‘I have a clip from one of your programmes to show the audience.’
The snide smile on Richard’s face made Niall uneasy, and he wondered if his wife knew what she could be letting herself in for. A couple of minutes of a show Robina had presented on autism came up on the screen. She was sharing a sofa with parents who had children with the illness. Opposite them on a separate sofa were the experts who were there to answer questions. It was evident as the couples spoke that Robina’s empathy was genuine. As the screen faded Richard turned to her again.
‘Before we talk about your future projects and your books, tell us a little about yourself. What about the woman behind the medical degree?’
‘I was born in South Africa,’ Robina answered with a smile. ‘My mother is a journalist, and my father was Xhosa. He used to be a lawyer and a political activist. He died just over five years ago.’
‘Isn’t that how you started? As a journalist? What made you decide to take up medicine?’
‘I was sent to Sudan to cover a refugee camp there,’ she said. Niall saw something shift in his wife’s eyes. ‘The conditions were awful, completely unbearable. There was so little anyone could do. But there was a team of doctors and nurses and other outreach workers who were there, doing a tremendous job. I watched them work for three weeks and realised that medicine was the career for me. I wanted to do something—not just report it.’
‘But yet here you are, working as a high-profile TV personality. Not exactly front line medicine, is it?’
Ouch, Niall thought. He’d suspected all along that Richard hadn’t brought Robina onto the show for a cosy chat. He felt his fingers curl into fists.
‘No.’
Niall sighed with relief when Robina refused to let the presenter rattle her.
‘But one thing I did realise, after working as a doctor in a similar scenario when I finished my training, was that what really makes a difference is education and information. Doctors do what they can in these situations, but really it’s just like sticking plaster on a wound. Without going to the source of the problem, we will never reach a long-lasting solution.’
‘So tell me how all this relates to your work here in the UK.’
Richard’s smile made him look like a shark. Niall would have given anything to wipe the supercilious grin off his face.
‘It doesn’t,’ Robina admitted. ‘But what I do is provide information to as many people as I can. Take my book on infertility, for example. If it helps even one person understand what the process involves, or points them in the right direction to find help, it can only be good. And as for the clip we have just seen, autistic spectrum disorder affects far more of the general population than most people realise. There was so much incorrect information given out about the MMR vaccine and its association with ASD that people stopped immunising their children, with a resultant increase in measles. The clip you have just seen is an attempt to share the challenges of living with an autistic child as well as debunking some of the myths that have sprung up around this condition.’
‘Apart from making you a substantial amount of money,’ Richard said snidely.
‘Most of which I put into programmes that provide immunisations and clean water to the people in war-torn countries such as Sudan,’ Robina replied without missing a beat.
Niall was taken aback. She had never told him that. It was hardly surprising since they barely spoke let alone discussed their individual bank accounts. He was beginning to realise that there was a lot more to his wife than he had suspected.
Her answer obviously took Richard by surprise too. For a moment the smile faltered, but then it was back. ‘That’s not public knowledge,’ Richard said.
‘No reason it should be.’ Robina smiled sweetly, but Niall could see a hint of iron in her eyes. ‘What I choose to do with my money is private.’
Niall was beginning to enjoy himself. ‘Way to go, Robina!’ he called out, only to find Ella looking at him with bafflement.
‘Way to go, Mummy,’ she chimed in anyway, making Niall laugh. God, he loved his daughter.
‘Let’s discuss your latest project,’ Richard continued. ‘I understand you are doing a documentary following women undergoing IVF treatment?’
‘That’s right. It will be airing in the autumn.’
‘Don’t you think it’s a little invasive? After all, these women are going through a particularly difficult time in their lives.’
‘I couldn’t agree more. That’s why only those women who wish to take part are filmed. We make it clear they can withdraw their consent at any time. But most of them want others to know what it’s like to undergo treatment. A book can’t really show the reality. It can be a terribly difficult and unpleasant experience for women and as my documentary will show, women are only prepared to put themselves through it because their need for a child is so overwhelming.’
‘Do you think IVF is good use of scarce resources?’ Once again the shark-like glint was back in Richard’s eyes. ‘After all, as you have so eloquently pointed out, there are so many other places where funding is needed.’
‘Do you have children of your own, Richard?’ There was a dangerous sparkle in Robina’s eyes.
He nodded.
‘When you watch my documentary, one of the things that will become clear is how much these women want children. If they can be helped, why deny them?’
‘Especially when it helps make your husband richer. I understand he works in the private sector as well as the NHS. I’m sure the publicity of your film will do his business no harm.