This week we're tackling three stories that all circle around the same big questions — who has a duty of care, who gets to tell someone else's story, and what happens when women just get on with it.
We start with the BAFTAs and the moment that's dominated the conversation all week. During the ceremony, John Davidson, the real-life inspiration behind the film I Swear, experienced verbal tics associated with his Tourette's syndrome, including a racial slur directed towards two Black actors on stage. The BBC chose not to edit it out of the delayed broadcast despite cutting other content. We talk about why that decision feels indefensible, what the duty of care should have looked like for everyone in that room and everyone watching at home, the intersection of disability and race, and why this has set back the very understanding Davidson has spent his life campaigning for. We also get into the wider context of ableism, invisible disabilities, and what it means when institutions fail vulnerable people in a political climate where DEI protections are already under attack.
Then we move to Emerald Fennell's new Wuthering Heights adaptation. Kate's seen it, Gem hasn't read the book or seen any version (yes, really). The Brontë purists are furious, the broadsheets are sniffy, and there are valid questions about the casting of a white Heathcliff. We get into whether two pieces of art can exist in the same space, what adaptations are actually for, how this film could bring a classic to a whole new generation, and the more complicated conversation about consent, toxic relationships, and whether a female director romanticising abuse makes it better or worse.
We finish with the Winter Olympics, where the women absolutely smashed it. Alyssa Liu came back to figure skating on her own terms and won gold. Eileen Gu became the most decorated female freeskier in Olympic history while studying at Stanford. A Dutch speed skater's husband set the benchmark for supportive partners everywhere. And the US women's hockey team won gold, got snubbed by their own broadcaster and politely declined the White House invitation. We talk about women in sport refusing to be boxed in, why visibility matters, and the chicken-and-egg problem with women's sports coverage and sponsorship.
Follow us on Instagram
@FridayImInBed
@GemmaSeager
@FearlessAt50
In this episode: The BAFTAs, Tourette's syndrome, coprolalia, the BBC's editorial decisions, duty of care, racism, ableism, invisible disabilities, Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë, literary adaptation, Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, toxic relationships in film, consent, the 2026 Winter Olympics, Alyssa Liu, Eileen Gu, women's figure skating, women's hockey, women in sport, body image in aesthetic sports, Trump, and why we're very polite when we're angry.