Emma Barnett reveals she ‘had the hysterectomy I never wanted to have’
BBC Radio 4 Today presenter Emma Barnett has revealed she underwent a hysterectomy and endometriosis surgery just days before her BBC Two documentary on the condition was broadcast in June. The 41-year-old returned to the Today programme on Wednesday after several weeks' absence, telling listeners it had been "a case of life imitating work" as she recovered from the operation. The disclosure highlights the severity of endometriosis, a condition Barnett has spoken about publicly before, and comes as she used her own experience to draw attention to a disease affecting large numbers of women.
In a blog post, Barnett described the "hysterectomy I never wanted to have", carried out alongside surgery to remove endometriosis tissue and her gallbladder in a near five-hour operation. She said the procedure became urgent after an ultrasound during filming detected a gallbladder problem, and that she was only well enough to watch the final ten minutes of her own documentary from her hospital bed. Endometriosis, which affects one in ten women and has no known cure, causes cells similar to the womb lining to grow elsewhere in the body; Barnett said she suspected the related condition adenomyosis may also have contributed to her pain, and that early signs suggested her symptoms had improved since surgery.
- Emma Barnett had a hysterectomy days before her endometriosis documentary aired
- She also had endometriosis surgery and her gallbladder removed simultaneously
- Endometriosis affects one in ten women and has no known cure
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Emma Barnett is a well-known BBC broadcaster who presents the Today programme on Radio 4, one of the corporation's flagship news shows. She has previously spoken openly about living with endometriosis, and earlier this year made a documentary for BBC Two exploring the condition, which was broadcast in June.
Endometriosis is a long-term health condition affecting around one in ten women, in which tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other parts of the body, often causing pain and other symptoms. There is no known cure, and treatment can range from pain management to surgery, including procedures such as a hysterectomy, the surgical removal of the womb.
This background matters because it explains why Barnett's disclosure, that she underwent major surgery just before her documentary aired, carries weight beyond her own personal story: it puts a public face to a condition that is common but often poorly understood, and highlights the practical toll it can take even on someone reporting on it professionally.