Incredible ‘Rob Burrow: Living with MND’ wins Television Documentary of the Year award

Josh McAllister
Rob Burrow

The incredible ‘Rob Burrow: Living with MND’ won the Television Documentary of the Year award on Monday night. 

Burrow, 40, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in December 2019 and accepted the award alongside his parents, Geoff and Irene, at the Sports Journalists’ Association Awards.

His documentary was aired by the BBC in October, following the Leeds legend and his family as he lives with MND.

BBC Two commissioned the the half-hour Rob Burrow: Living with MND documentary from BBC Breakfast. It was first shown on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on Tuesday, October 18 last year.

The documentary takes an intimate look at his life now, as the former international passed his two-year life expectancy and has survived a global pandemic.

The Sports Journalists’ Association British Sports Awards is an annual gala occasion in which members of the SJA – more than 700 of the country’s leading sports writers, editors, photographers and broadcasters –  vote for the awards such as the Sportsman, Sportswoman and Team of the Year in the longest-established awards of their kind in Britain.

Rob Burrow accepts award

Burrow, who was awarded an MBE last year, uses ground-breaking technology to speak using his eyes.

He said: “I’m so honoured to have won the Documentary of the Year award. I am just wanting to raise awareness for the disease and really enthuse a reaction to the government.

“I would like to thank all my family for letting the doors open to show the devastation of this horrible disease. I’m so grateful for the public who have took to my family’s story and I hope that MND is on the map now.

“I am accepting this on behalf of those who are alone with MND and who are struggling with MND and have little help.

“Thank you. It means the world.”

Rob Burrow

Burrow also recently received the 2,000th Points of Light award at an event in Downing Street. He dedicated the award to all those living with MND while speaking with the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.

He said: “I would like to thank the Prime Minister for this award and also the £50million commitment by his government for MND research.

“I know the first 30 million is already making a huge difference and I hope the remaining 20 million will be made available as soon as possible as time is not a luxury that the MND community has.

“I would like to accept this award on behalf of my fellow 5,000 people with MDN in this country and ask the Prime Minister that when he stands in the House of Commons and sees his fellow MPs, that he imagines six more people behind every one of those 650 MPs each with the worst possible diagnoses in front of them.

“When he does that and makes the very important decisions his office demands, I would ask him to do it with compassion with each of those people. Because as my good friend Kevin Sinfield said, this country cares.”

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