Room 5 – Details, episodes & analysis

One afternoon, Helena Merriman walked into a doctor’s surgery and was given a shock diagnosis. In this series, she interviews people who - like her - were changed by a diagnosis. Told through an immersive sound design, this intimate series shines a light on misunderstood conditions, asking how we cope when our bodies and minds behave in ways that don’t make sense to us.

Written, presented and produced by Helena Merriman Composer: Jeremy Warmsley Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore

Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples Editor: Emma Rippon

‘He was interested in why I was so attached to this penguin’ Bex is at university when she starts feeling anxious and overwhelmed. As Bex deteriorates, doctors are in a race against time to diagnose her. And that’s where the penguin comes in.

In Room 5, Helena Merriman interviews people who - like her - were changed by a diagnosis.

Written, presented and produced by Helena Merriman Composer: Jeremy Warmsley Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore

Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples Editor: Emma Rippon Commissioning Editor: Richard Knight

#Room5

With special thanks to Rachel Roberts, principal viola with the LSO End song: Miffed by Tom Rosenthal

If you have a story you’d like to share you can email: room5@bbc.co.uk

Aged 39, Holly Smale was a successful author - the creator of the bestselling series of children’s books, Geek Girl. One afternoon, while talking to her therapist, Holly breaks down, says she feels broken. And so begins her journey to understand why she’s always felt different to other people.

We track back through Holly’s difficult childhood, her short-lived modelling career and her traumatic time at university - all the way to the moment she was diagnosed as autistic.

Psychologist Dr Sarah Lister Brook - Clinical Director for the National Autistic Society - tells us why so many autistic girls and women still go undiagnosed. And Holly Smale shares some life advice with a newly diagnosed eight-year-old girl. In Room 5, Helena Merriman interviews people who - like her - were changed by a diagnosis. Written, presented and produced by Helena Merriman Composer: Jeremy Warmsley Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples Researcher: Drew Hyndman Editor: Emma Rippon #Room5 End song: Miffed by Tom Rosenthal

Killing the worm in Simon’s brain before it kills him.

Simon’s just back from holiday when things go off-kilter. He tries to open the fridge door - but can’t find the handle. He feels a throbbing pain in his head and a growing pressure behind his eye. An MRI scan reveals a cyst in Simon’s head - containing a worm. Simon has a rare condition called neurocysticercosis. And so the race against time begins: to kill the worm in Simon’s brain before it kills him.

In Room 5, Helena Merriman shares stories of real-life medical mysteries, interviewing people who - like her - were changed by a diagnosis. Combining intimate storytelling, immersive sound design, candid interviews, science and a large dose of compassion, Room 5 is a gripping portrait of extraordinary people at a moment when everything changes. Written, presented and produced by Helena Merriman Composer: Jeremy Warmsley Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples Researcher: May Cameron Editor: Emma Rippon #Room5 End song: Miffed by Tom Rosenthal

The mystery diagnosis that sheds light on pain.

After a routine knee-op, 23-year-old Poppy comes round in excruciating pain. Her leg changes colour, soon she can’t walk, yet her scans show nothing wrong with her knee.

Doctors are baffled and about to discharge her when she’s seen by Dr Deepak Ravindran - one of the UK’s top pain consultants - who solves the mystery. In Room 5, Helena Merriman shares stories of real-life medical mysteries, interviewing people who - like her - were changed by a diagnosis. Combining intimate storytelling, immersive sound design, candid interviews, science and a large dose of compassion, Room 5 is a gripping portrait of extraordinary people at a moment when everything changes. Written and presented by Helena Merriman Produced by Claire Bowes and Helena Merriman Composer: Jeremy Warmsley Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples Editor: Emma Rippon #Room5 End song: Miffed by Tom Rosenthal

Gareth’s search to find out why he has no sperm.

Gareth Landy will never forget the room where it happens. Where he’s told he has no sperm. He’s devastated - he’s desperate to start a family with his wife Anna - and to do that he needs to find out why he has no sperm. The doctor says he’ll probably never find an answer. But Gareth keeps searching - a search that leads somewhere completely unexpected.

In Room 5, Helena Merriman shares stories of real-life medical mysteries, interviewing people who - like her - were changed by a diagnosis.

Written, presented and produced by Helena Merriman Composer: Jeremy Warmsley Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore

Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples Researcher: May Cameron Editor: Emma Rippon

#Room5

End song: Miffed by Tom Rosenthal

On changing her relationship with her body.

From the outside, Tilly seems to have life figured out. She works in fashion, lives on a house-boat - for which she’s done all the plumbing and electrics. But inside, she’s struggling. She’s always felt wrong in her body - ever since school. Then one afternoon, Tilly sits down with a therapist - who fits the pieces of the puzzle together and gives Tilly a diagnosis. Tilly’s diagnosis explains the way her brain is wired - now her challenge is to re-wire it, and change her future. In Room 5, Helena Merriman shares stories of real-life medical mysteries, interviewing people who - like her - were changed by a diagnosis. Written, presented and produced by Helena Merriman Composer: Jeremy Warmsley Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples Researcher: May Cameron Editor: Emma Rippon #Room5 End song: Miffed by Tom Rosenthal

Information and support on issues relating to this episode: Body Dysmorphic Disorder The BDD Foundation provides information, resources and support to those suffering from Body Dysmorphic Disorder. https://bddfoundation.org/support/

Eating disorders https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2DRkg4JC7SLT3B7hlrn6DKN/information-and-support-eating-disorders

Mental health https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1NGvFrTqWChr03LrYlw2Hkk/information-and-support-mental-health-self-harm

Suicide/Emotional distress https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4WLs5NlwrySXJR2n8Snszdg/information-and-support-suicide-emotional-distress

On his childhood nightmares and the diagnosis that explained them.

Tre’s lying in bed. He’s 10 years old and his heart’s racing. He’s just seen a strange figure in the corner of his bedroom, and it’s moving towards him. Tre has experiences like this all through his childhood. Nightmares. Hallucinations. Sleep paralysis. One afternoon, at school, his teacher pulls him aside. She’s spotted something in him that she recognises. And so it begins - tests, scans, until the clues come together and reveal a diagnosis that explains everything. In Room 5, Helena Merriman shares stories of real-life medical mysteries, interviewing people who - like her - were changed by a diagnosis. Written, presented and produced by Helena Merriman Composer: Jeremy Warmsley Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples Producer: Claire Bowes Editor: Emma Rippon #Room5 End song: Miffed by Tom Rosenthal

On taking psychedelics to treat depression.

Ruth‘s lying on a hospital bed. There’s calm music, she’s wearing an eye-mask and in her hand - a single white pill. It contains an illegal chemical which some doctors are convinced could revolutionise the way we treat depression. Ruth’s struggled with depression since she was a child. She’s tried everything - and for her, this is her last chance. Ruth swallows the pill, the chemicals flow into her bloodstream and then - her psychedelic trip begins. In Room 5, Helena Merriman shares stories of real-life medical mysteries, interviewing people who - like her - were changed by a diagnosis. Written, presented and produced by Helena Merriman Composer: Jeremy Warmsley Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples Researcher: Drew Hyndman Editor: Emma Rippon #Room5 End song: Miffed by Tom Rosenthal

On being one in a million.

Hannah’s aged five, playing with the toys in a hospital waiting room. She’s been here before, been in and out of hospital since she was a baby. But today, she’s about to discover what’s been going wrong with her body. A diagnosis that doctors will tell her makes her one in a million. Hannah’s life becomes one huge experiment, a constant weighing of odds. Until, in her early 20s, the odds change. And she takes part in a clinical trial that changes everything.

In Room 5, Helena Merriman shares stories of real-life medical mysteries, interviewing people who - like her - were changed by a diagnosis. Written, presented and produced by Helena Merriman Composer: Jeremy Warmsley Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples Researcher: May Cameron Editor: Emma Rippon #Room5 End song: Miffed by Tom Rosenthal