I am really pleased in 2023 to be an Ambassador for Joys & Beginnings, a new initiative powered by Apollo Fertility in India to help people who want to have a family.

I supported the launch of Joys & beginnings on my 45th birthday with Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director of the Apollo Hospitals Group, broadcasting online across India.

People need to know where to get reliable help and how to begin to find out how they can have a family. There is a lot of advice online, but not all of it is reliable. I always say to patients that the first step is talking to a doctor with their partner to work out what the problem might be and how they can get help.

Having travelled throughout the world I understand that in many countries – India being one of them – persuading men to seek help is more difficult so I am pleased that Apollo Fertility are supporting men and women with good quality information.

My Mum and Dad tried for nine years before they sought help. Mum was told by a doctor that there was only a million to one chance she would get pregnant. Thanks to the new technique being developed that million to one chance came along.

She was very determined and always believed she would get the help she needed and start the family that meant so much to her. She went on to have a second child through IVF.

Bourn Hall is a place very close to my heart. As well as being the world’s first IVF clinic it is also where my parents came to have further IVF after they’d had me, which resulted in the birth of my sister Natalie.

The IVF pioneers behind my birth, Bob, Patrick and Jean, who set up Bourn Hall, have all now sadly passed away but the work they started continues and it is always a privilege to meet the dedicated people who work here.

I have been visiting Bourn Hall in Cambridge ever since I can remember and it feels like home. I am delighted to be an Ambassador for all the Bourn Hall clinics and to keep alive the link with the pioneers of IVF and the memory of my mother Lesley Brown and my dad, John Brown, who were so grateful for the help and support they received and the connection they had with Bourn Hall.