20,000 contact helpline after sepsis deaths in BBC shows

Sepsis death storylines in Call The Midwife and other shows resulted in 20,000 calls to BBC helpline, it emerges after mother whose son died from disease gets New Year MBE

  • Storylines about sepsis in Call the Midwife and The Archers prompted calls 
  • Roughly 15,000 Archers listeners called BBC’s helpline in February and March  
  • More than 5,000 Call the Midwife viewers contacted the helpline in March
  • Figures emerged after Melissa Mead was given an MBE for raising awareness

Heartbreaking storylines about sepsis in Call the Midwife and The Archers prompted more than 20,000 calls to a BBC helpline, it emerged yesterday.

Around 15,000 Archers listeners sought advice and support from the BBC’s Action Line in February and March when Nic Grundy, a character in the Radio 4 soap opera, died from sepsis after a cut on her arm became infected.

And more than 5,000 Call the Midwife viewers contacted the helpline for support in March following the death of nurse Barbara Gilbert in the BBC1 drama, also from sepsis.

Heartbreaking storylines about sepsis in Call the Midwife and The Archers prompted more than 20,000 calls to a BBC helpline, it emerged yesterday (pictured: Jennifer Kirby and Helen George in Call the Midwife)


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Both shows helped raise awareness of the blood condition. Becky Wright, who played Nic Grundy, even met someone who said her life was saved as a result of her character’s storyline.

The BBC figures emerged after Melissa Mead was given an MBE in the New Years Honours List for raising awareness of sepsis.

She campaigned on behalf of the UK Sepsis Trust after her 12-month-old son William died in 2014 following failures to detect the infection. His death also triggered the Daily Mail’s End The Sepsis Scandal campaign.

The BBC figures emerged after Melissa Mead was given an MBE in the New Years Honours List for raising awareness of sepsis (pictured with son William)

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