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[tourmaline]

If you've seen my Tweets this evening, you may have noted I'm not too impressed with some of the documentary films. Or maybe one in particular: Fern Cotton visited a hospital in Uganda which treats children suffering from malaria. The solution here is simple: prevention comes from mosquito nets, which cost practically nothing to us donators. Pocket change. But they save lives. And malaria can be treated with drugs readily available in the West. The hospital was full of very sick children, whose illnesses could be treated if the hospital had the drugs and resources to do so. And could have been prevented if all the families had been given mosquito nets in the first place. The film was maybe five minutes long, and maybe 45 seconds of it (ie almost 20%) was concerned with the fact that she was overwhelmed with what she saw and fainted. This is 45 seconds we could have been hearing from a doctor at the hospital about his/her perspective on the issue, or a support worker (we heard from a nurse onscreen).

The issue is, these films are - or should be - about the issues, the need for contributions and where the money goes. They're not there for the presenters to appear onscreen so we can see how much they care or how sensitive they are. We know they care, they wouldn't be there otherwise. I was fourteen when the first Red Nose Day appeared in 1988; I remember the late 1980s-1990s films from Africa fronted by Lenny Henry and Billy Connolly (among others). They were about the issues, the people, how Comic Relief money will help, how simple it is to help to make things better. They were straightforward, informative, memorable, sad, touching, funny and hopeful. At the time, I read interviews with Lenny Henry about his experiences of visiting Africa to make the films, and the effect it had on him. About how he felt angry and heartbroken and inspired and hopeful and determined to make a commitment to do what he can.

I'm not denying Fern Cotton's distress, but I don't think the documentary films are the place for these emotions to be expressed. The purpose of the films is to inform people; to encourage people to donate to the charity. I'm sure there's a magazine or online publication who are happy to interview her about her experiences in Uganda and how it affected her. It would be a win all round, and the documentaries can concentrate on the issues they are reporting.

I hope this doesn't put anyone off supporting the charity. It doesn't appear to be doing so right now, as a total just in states over £54 million has so far been raised tonight. And if you see past the celebrities who try to push themselves in front of the real issue of the night, you'll see what a difference this £54 million can make. From the simple stuff like a pocket-change mosquito net to the large-scale investment of time, expertise and large-scale match-funded grants of bigger projects - supporting children of alcoholic parents and helping them to live a life they can enjoy, training midwives and providing them with transport and medicine so that women in remote African communities can give birth safely, it can and does make a difference.