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The presenter agreed to our doc on one condition: he wouldn't cry for the camera
Stephen McQuillan
Executive producer
It happened during one of those all too rare moments of inspiration while I was having a coffee at the Patisserie Valerie in Piccadilly.
I had been talking to Rachel Morgan in the BBC's specialist factual commissioning team about an observational series at the Neurosurgery Department of the Bristol Royal Infirmary. While she was engaged with the idea, she wanted something more from it. We had discussed how we could author the series or bring a more personal angle to the amazing surgery that was taking place at the BRI and I had wracked my brain to come up with the right person to attach to the proposal.
When I saw stroke survivor Andrew Marr walk into that cafe, it struck me that there were few better qualified people to try to understand the brain through personal experience than him.
Andrew was added to the proposal and during further discussions around the programme the idea evolved from a hospital access series to a personal journey to discover the mysteries of the brain through Andrew's recovery from his 2013 stroke.
All good, but would Andrew come on board? Rachel and I met with him and his long-term producer - and now Rachel's fellow BBC commissioner - Fatima Salaria to discuss the concept.
Andrew was intrigued but wary of a lachrymose self-pitying celebrity film and told us in no uncertain terms: "I won't cry at any stage". Assurances were made and indeed the "I'm not crying" theme was incorporated into the film. Before we knew it were in production making what would become Andrew Marr: My Brain and Me.
Rachel was clear that she wanted the audience to understand Andrew in a...