OUR WONDERFUL nurses

FIONA BRUCE and SIOBHAN TYRRELL on how Antiques Roadshow is helping mark the NHS' milestone birthday

- REBECCA FLETCHER

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW
SUNDAY, 7PM, BBC1 FACTUAL

The National Health Service celebrates its 75th anniversary on 5 July, and this week, BBC1’s Antiques Roadshow marks the occasion with a special episode dedicated to a group of people who are a constant presence in our lives – nurses.

‘From the moment we enter the world, until we leave it, nurses are there to care for us when we’re at our most vulnerable, when we’re most in need,’ says presenter Fiona Bruce.

Filmed at St Thomas’ and St Bartholomew’s Hospitals in London, the programme explores how nursing has changed from the 19th century to the present day, highlighting the profession’s founders, such as Florence Nightingale, while also examining recent improvements in palliative and mental-health care.

‘We hear some remarkable stories of bravery, pioneering research, self-sacrifice and devotion,’ says Fiona.

Filming this tribute was particularly poignant for women’s history and jewellery expert Siobhan Tyrrell, whose family have many nursing links.

‘My mum’s a retired nurse, my cousin is a nurse and my great-great-aunt was a nurse in World War One and gave her life for the conflict, so this was a really special episode,’ says Siobhan, who has been a familiar face on Antiques Roadshow since 2019.

Here, in an exclusive interview, Siobhan, who looks at bravery medals and the origins of district nursing and hospice care in the programme, tells TV Times more…