Room 5

Room 5 LIVE at Hay Festival with screenwriter Abi Morgan.

In this special episode of Room 5, recorded in front of a live audience at Hay Festival, Helena Merriman speaks to Abi Morgan - the BAFTA and…

On being one in a million.

Hannah’s aged five, playing with the toys in a hospital waiting room. She’s been here before, been in and out of hospital since she was a baby. But today, she’s about to di…

On taking psychedelics to treat depression.

Ruth‘s lying on a hospital bed. There’s calm music, she’s wearing an eye-mask and in her hand - a single white pill. It contains an illegal chemical which …

On his childhood nightmares and the diagnosis that explained them.

Tre’s lying in bed. He’s 10 years old and his heart’s racing. He’s just seen a strange figure in the corner of his bedroom, and it’s …

On changing her relationship with her body.

From the outside, Tilly seems to have life figured out. She works in fashion, lives on a house-boat - for which she’s done all the plumbing and electrics. …

Gareth’s search to find out why he has no sperm.

Gareth Landy will never forget the room where it happens. Where he’s told he has no sperm. He’s devastated - he’s desperate to start a family with his…

The mystery diagnosis that sheds light on pain.

After a routine knee-op, 23-year-old Poppy comes round in excruciating pain. Her leg changes colour, soon she can’t walk, yet her scans show nothing wro…

Killing the worm in Simon’s brain before it kills him.

Simon’s just back from holiday when things go off-kilter. He tries to open the fridge door - but can’t find the handle. He feels a throbbing pai…

Aged 39, Holly Smale was a successful author - the creator of the bestselling series of children’s books, Geek Girl. One afternoon, while talking to her therapist, Holly breaks down, says she feels b…

Helena Merriman previews the next series of Room 5 which starts on Tuesday 1st November.

One afternoon, Helena Merriman walked into a doctor’s surgery and was given a shock diagnosis. In Room 5, she i…

‘It’s like being trapped in a room with a terrifying creature.’ A few months after her son was born, Helena realises something is wrong. Her search for answers leads to a difficult decision.

In Room …

‘My inbox on instagram was full of women saying thank you so much.’ The pain began when Andrea was a teenager. When she was given a diagnosis, she wanted to find a way of explaining it to the world.

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‘A light breeze can quickly turn into a desert storm.’ On his last day of the school year, 17-year-old Jordan starts seeing and hearing the world differently. Hours later, he’s in a police station, s…

‘When I wasn’t high, I felt very sad and very scared.’ Twenty years on, Gavanndra is struggling to make sense of a childhood trauma. Then she meets a psychologist who has an idea.

In Room 5, Helena Me…

‘I stare at my own reflection, trying to remind myself that I’m not dead.’ Joel never understood why he felt different to other people. Then a revelation in India sets him on a journey to find answer…

‘I wiped my tears away and had to carry on with the party.’ When Serena is given an unexpected diagnosis, she has to make a life-changing decision.

In Room 5, Helena Merriman interviews people who - …

‘It was unbelievably painful - I probably used a few Anglo-Saxon words.’ Jon is at Peppa Pig World with his family when he notices something very unusual about his body.

In Room 5, Helena Merriman in…

‘He was interested in why I was so attached to this penguin’ Bex is at university when she starts feeling anxious and overwhelmed. As Bex deteriorates, doctors are in a race against time to diagnose …

One afternoon, Helena Merriman walked into a doctor’s surgery and was given a shock diagnosis. In this series, she interviews people who - like her - were changed by a diagnosis. Told through an imme…