Meeting the team behind A Child of Science

I dropped into the Bristol Old Vic to meet up with the people who are behind, A Child of Science, a play about the pioneers, who successfully invented IVF and brought me into the world in 1978.

It was fascinating to chat to writer Gareth Farr, who was inspired to write the play after having IVF children himself inspiring him to research the story of Steptoe, Edwards and Purdy. With fellow IVF dad Matthew Dunster as director they have a real passion for telling the story.

I can’t wait to see it at the incredible Bristol Old Vic Theatre and I’m really proud that the play is getting its world premiere in my home city. I believe it is the first time the story of how IVF came about has been dramatised in a stage play.

Of course, the most exciting personal moment was meeting Tom Felton, who plays Bob Edwards, as I loved his performance as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films. He is part of a fantastic enthusiastic cast that includes Meg Bellamy, who played Kate Middleton in The Crown as Jean Purdy and Jamie Glover (Waterloo Road and Casualty) as Bob Edwards.

It was wonderful to meet the whole team and learn how rehearsals are going and chat about some of the characters they are playing – including my own mum and dad – and learn how the production is coming together in rehearsals.

My mum was one of a number of women at a little cottage hospital near Oldham, all with fertility issues and all willing to take a risk on the experimental work of the scientists who believed they could produce a human being in vitro.

Mum was the lucky one to be the first and have me. All that work led to around 12 million babies being born across the world today. I’m sure the pioneers and my mum and dad would never have imagined that one day it would be the subject of a stage play.

Photos: Jon Craig