BBC 1 Frankie

[bettie]

Hi last night on bbc1 was the last episode of Frankie, worth a watch on bbc I player. It involves a case on lupus and atos. Hope everybody is well x

[Danielle2419]

Yeah I haven't watched Frankie before but their was a post saying their was going to be something about lupus, I watched it last night with my family It was great and I think they got an understanding of it and how it affects our daily lives eg work and mobility it was great how Frankie was helping her out and in the end she decided that working wasn't the right thing so she moved in with her parents

P.S her butterfly rash was realistic too

[pattismith]

Portrayed very well by actress and BBc obviously researched well. Maybe if we all contact the BBC and encouraged them to write a script for one of the long running soaps to include a character with Lupus and follow their symptoms, diagnosis and treatment and day to day how they cope. Would be a great storyline and all us Lupies would watch it and heaven knows there are that many of us out there , it would make their ratings sore !!

[Danielle2419 in reply to pattismith]

What a great idea how can we write to them

[pattismith]

BBC - FAQs - Contact Us faq.external.bbc.co.uk.

BBC help-frequently asked questions about the BBC

[flutterby]

I thought it was really well done, a good portrayal, also raising the issue of difficulties and hardship that can be faced with fit for work assessments. Agree it would be amazing to see lupus feature over a period of time in a soap, plenty of other illnesses get covered in storylines don't they x

[field]

The symptoms portrayed in the program were quite clearly lupus symptoms, However I didn't hear them mention the word lupus, did I miss that bit?

[madmagz in reply to field]

Hi Field, yes they did refer to her having S.L.E., systemic lupus and also lupus I was listening out for it as I was keen to see if it was made clear what she was suffering from.

Madmagz x

[field in reply to madmagz]

I did miss the very beginning of the program. considering how little is known about lupus by the general public, I thought it was a good start.

we need more programs that portray the illness on tv so that others can be educated about it. One of the organisations that need urgent education about lupus is ATOS, They really don't understand the debility of lupus or the trauma the cause by the way they treat sufferers.

[mum-two]

I watched it and thought it was very good.Frankie said the lady had Lupus when she first saw her working in the supermarket.

[janiceray]

I was disappointed with it!

[madmagz]

Over all I was disappointed that it only implied that there are physical mobility and butterfly rash problems. I steer clear of super markets for fear of catching nasty things since having my immune suppressants increased as I have seen kids with chicken pox in there and that can be really crippling to us. They are full of flourescent lighting too which is not good if you are photosensitive so it would be impossible to work there if that was the case, nothing was mentioned about that. I know cases vary but maybe it could have shown a little more about other problems she had.

Madmagz x

[flutterby in reply to madmagz]

I think it is hard to portray lupus, as so much is invisible, showing a mobility problem and a rash, which I noticed was worse after a shift in a supermarket are quite visual, also I thought she looked exhausted. I thought the portrayal that lupus is a serious and life altering condition was the best representation that we could have wanted in terms of awareness of lupus, I remember being given a leaflet about lupus where in the foreward it said that some people would complain it didnt portray the severetity of the condition, and that an equal n7mber of people would say it portrayed it as being more severe than it is, because of how differently it affects people with it and in such different ways too x

[madmagz in reply to flutterby]

Very true you have made a valid point there, it must have been very hard for the writers to even know where to start when wanting to include such a complex illness. I am honestly very grateful that the program brought the general public's attention to the fact that the illness can be so debilitating and hopefully a few people may even get on the internet to find out more or there may even be people who are spurned on to go to their doctor with similar symptoms.

Thank you BBC x

[Melinda]

Just watched it on BBCI player. I thought it was good, bearing in mind the programme wasn't just about Lupus. Any publicity highlighting Lupus and difficulties with ATOs has to be a very good thing. It's better than no publicity and there's precious little in the about Lupus.

[Melinda]

Meant to say, precious little in the media about Lupus.

[Purpletop]

It made sense to us, particularly where it mentioned the magic pills and the steroids being given inappropriately as boost rather than controlling flares. But I doubt that made any sense to those who don't suffer from this. Having said that, I had friends who after seeing this called me up to say how much they now realise about lupus effect on me, so it must have been sufficient for the general public to get the idea. I'd say it is the first program on TV that addressed it a bit more in depth, given that it wasn't lupus specific item, so I'm glad there is now more effort to raise awareness through a medium that reaches everyone.