BBC Two will broadcast a special programme which documents the life of former rugby player Rob Burrow as he battles with motor neurone disease.
The documentary will air on October 18 and deliver an insight into his family life, after the Rugby League legend was diagnosed in 2019 and given a maximum life expectancy of two years.
Now 40, Burrow has lived longer than expected but requires 24-hour care while using a voicebox to speak.
“I’m a prisoner in my own body, that’s the way MND gets you, the lights are on, but no one’s home,” he said.
“I think like you, but my mind doesn’t work right. I can’t move my body.”
The father of three also states during the documentary that “he’s not giving in, right until his last breath,” as he has “too many reasons to live.”
His former Leeds Rhinos team-mate Kevin Sinfield will also make an appearance, after the Manchester native has raised over a million pounds for MND research.
The thirty-minute programme, which will air at 7pm, has been commissioned by BBC Breakfast who have followed Burrow’s life ever since his diagnosis.
BBC Breakfast presenter Sally Nugent said: “This film shares the brutal reality of living with motor neuron disease, not just for Rob, but the impact it has on his whole family and friends.
“What he is doing will have a lasting legacy for people diagnosed today and in years to come.
“The documentary is an unflinching look at life through Rob’s eyes. We see him fight daily for small victories that we might take for granted.
“Every breath is a battle. Every moment with his family is a win for them all.
“But he is as funny today as he was the first day I met him, when he was just one of the greatest rugby league players of all time. He is still that, and so much more.”
