Featured by the BBC

Recently, I had a really exciting opportunity. I was invited to share my sight loss story with the BBC.

That invitation led me to BBC CWR’s radio studio in Coventry, sitting across from Vic Minett for a 30-minute feature interview. Headphones on. Microphones live. This was a proper moment of pause to tell the story fully, not rushed, not edited down to a headline.

We talked about the accident in August 2024 that led to me losing my right eye while on an industrial photo shoot. And we talked about everything that came after.

I shared how, as a professional photographer, losing an eye wasn’t just physical. My vision was my work, my income, my identity.

“Losing an eye would be difficult for anyone, but there was an extra layer in it for me because my vision was not only my work and my income, but my identity.”

There were weeks before it really sank in. Then three to four months of what I described as “absolute heartbreak and despair.” I didn’t pick up my cameras for five or six months. Work had to be cancelled. Income disappeared. I genuinely didn’t know if I would be able to return to the career that is my heart and soul.

Everything had to be relearnt. Emotionally and physically. My brain figuring out how to see the world differently. The loss of depth perception was surprisingly disorientating. I still laugh about how I go to hang my keys on the hook at home and miss by an inch.”

We also talked about the extraordinary capacity of the human brain to adapt.

But we also talked about the extraordinary capacity of the human brain to adapt.

“Your body is very clever, your brain neuro-adapts and your good remaining eye almost expands its peripheral vision… you don’t lose 50 per cent of your sight, you lose about 20 to 25 per cent because the other one picks up the slack.”

That adaptation feels like more than biology. It feels like a lesson.

I was really sure right from the very off that “I will not let this define me.” And of course it has defined me. What I meant was that I would not become a victim of it.

The interview also touched on identity and appearance. I received a beautifully hand-painted prosthetic eye from the NHS, perfectly matched. And now, sometimes, I wear a purple one. We spoke about stigma around facial difference, and how I hadn’t realised how intrinsically my sense of beauty and self-worth was linked to how my face looked.

Losing an eye has been devastating. It has also been clarifying.

“All the learning I’ve had in the 18 months, it’s like a box of treasure and it’s kind of bursting out of its seams – it feels like it’s selfish to keep hold of this learning now.”

That sentence felt important to say out loud.

Because this experience has led me into public speaking, and to creating my podcast One Eye on the Horizon, after struggling to find stories like mine in those early days. I hope to build a beautiful bank of voices and “golden nuggets of knowledge” for anyone newer to this journey.

You can listen to a clip from the radio interview here

And the BBC later published a written article about my story on their website and the BBC News app. Read it here.

Final thoughts

I’m incredibly grateful to the BBC and to Vic Minett for holding the conversation with such care.

Telling the truth of this experience feels like part of the healing. And if sharing it publicly helps even one person feel less alone in their own life-altering moment, then it’s worth every second behind that microphone.

What this experience has shown me is that bravery is rarely loud.

It is not a headline.
It is not a performance.

It is the quiet decision, again and again, to meet what has happened and ask, what now?

Losing my sight in one eye has reshaped how I see the world, but it has also deepened how I speak about resilience, identity, recovery and courage under pressure. These are not abstract ideas for me. They are lived. Embodied. Tested.

If you’re looking for a speaker who can bring honesty, warmth and grounded courage into conversations about change, adversity and human adaptability, I would love to connect.

You can find out more about my speaking work here

Or get in touch directly to start a conversation.

Because sometimes the bravest thing we can do is tell the story — and let it serve someone else.