Extraordinary Portraits Season 5 Episode 6

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Transcript

00:01None of us know what surprises life has in store for us.

00:06But all around are everyday heroes.

00:08Ordinary people showing amazing bravery, courage and determination.

00:12I was holding him by the wrists so that he couldn't blow up the bomb.

00:15When I opened my eyes, I was on the hospital bed, all handcuffed.

00:19I competed in eight Ironman triathlons.

00:23And I'm here to give them the recognition they deserve.

00:26I've assembled a crack team of artists, painters and sculptors

00:30to immortalize these unsung heroes with a unique series of portraits.

00:34This is the hardest bit for you, isn't it, Eddie?

00:36Sitting still.

00:37We were just looking at you.

00:40Can you look at me with your eyes?

00:42It's not going to be easy.

00:43I've been in my own personal hell.

00:45The reveals are not that far away now.

00:48If this second cast fails, I'm done.

00:50There's a big sense of responsibility to capture their story.

00:54But the results are going to be amazing.

00:57I've put my heart and soul into this.

00:59Three, two, one.

01:02Fantastic.

01:03Quite blown away, to be honest.

01:05I wasn't thinking you were going to make me cry.

01:07Sorry, I'm getting a bit emotional.

01:10Creating a legacy for generations to come.

01:12I want to remember them like that.

01:14I'm struggling to find right words because there's no words.

01:18To have us captured in that moment, in that spot that means so much is an absolute privilege.

01:25Welcome to Extraordinary Portraits.

01:36Today's story is about two sisters.

01:39Their amazing emotional bond.

01:41An act of selflessness.

01:44A bit of medical history.

01:45And the creation of a new life.

01:51Grace made history as the first woman in the UK to give birth from a transplanted womb.

01:57A life-changing gift donated by her sister, Amy.

02:00Hello.

02:01Hi.

02:02Hello, Amy.

02:03Amy.

02:04Hi, Grace.

02:04Grace, lovely to meet you.

02:06Thanks for coming.

02:08Enter.

02:09Our artist's retreat.

02:15Welcome both.

02:16Firstly, I have to say, you've been causing a bit of a stir in the medical world.

02:23Yeah.

02:24Two years ago, they did a transplant and took Amy's womb and put it into me.

02:28I had a baby four months ago.

02:31And what's her name?

02:32Amy.

02:32Oh.

02:33Yeah, yeah.

02:34Of course.

02:35What was the condition that prevented you from getting pregnant?

02:39So, I have a condition called MRKH.

02:42It basically means that I was born without a womb.

02:44So, I've got ovaries.

02:45I've got all the other things.

02:46I found that out when I was a teenager because I didn't have periods.

02:50So, it's just a sort of a rare...

02:52Yeah, yeah, just a rare condition.

02:54As soon as I was diagnosed, I really struggled.

02:56I think the impact on my mental health of this condition just meant that there was a grief

03:02of having the loss of something and the impact of that was, yeah, the hopelessness.

03:08It was a no-brainer despite the risks.

03:10In a time when we hear of medical breakthroughs, it's still nothing short of miraculous.

03:16I know it is.

03:17The consultant that diagnosed me with MRKH when I was 19 said that, you know, maybe in

03:22my lifetime it might become an option.

03:24It's all due to that wonderful team.

03:25Literally everybody that has been involved that we've come across has been amazing.

03:29Seeing the impact that that had on her, I would have done anything in all honesty.

03:35I mean, it's a huge thing to do for another person.

03:40You know, it's an enormous acts of selflessness in many ways.

03:44It's a big operation.

03:45It's got huge risks.

03:47But mine was nine hours.

03:49They have to retrieve the womb in a perfect condition.

03:54But yeah, looking back, it was such an amazing journey.

03:59But a really, really hard one as well for not just us.

04:03Yeah.

04:03For everyone.

04:04It's the whole family, isn't it?

04:05I think it was about 14 hours for me.

04:07So it was, again, a lot longer than expected.

04:1014 hours.

04:11I mean, that must be as much as the body can take, though.

04:14Yeah.

04:14Two weeks after the operation, you phoned, say, it had your first period.

04:18And the transformation was so apparent then of just how different you were.

04:24Even just having periods, the emotional impact of all of this, because I was always striving

04:30for something and I've got a confidence or a security that I didn't have before.

04:37What would you hope that people hearing about this story will take away from it?

04:43People might not understand the worthiness of this procedure, but yeah, it was absolutely

04:50the right thing to do and it's transformed my life.

04:53Me and Angus, my husband, were just like, we can't believe she's ours.

04:57This has been the best thing that I have ever done to change somebody's happiness.

05:04And have you had any thoughts at all about how you'd like to be portrayed?

05:09Hopefully capture the relationship that we have somehow, because our bond is really special.

05:14Okay, so you sit tight. I'll go and get the artist. I'll see you in a minute.

05:17Okay. Okay.

05:19Okay.

05:29Hello everyone.

05:31Hi.

05:31Hey Nick, Caroline.

05:33So today's sitters, quite an amazing story.

05:38Two sisters, one who had a rare condition, which meant that she couldn't conceive.

05:45And her sister donated her womb.

05:49Wow.

05:50And I reckon, Karen, you would love to have a go at this.

05:55Exactly the kind of one I'd love to paint.

05:57Yeah.

05:58Follow me and I'll fill you in on the way.

06:00See you guys.

06:01See you later.

06:02Cheers.

06:05I thought Karen would be perfect for this, because she loves painting strong women.

06:10Amy and Grace, this is Karen.

06:12I don't know who to say hello to first.

06:13Karen.

06:14Hello.

06:15This is Amy.

06:15And this is Grace.

06:18I'm really excited to find out more about your story.

06:20We thought about what you would like it to look like in terms of how you're represented,

06:24what you'd like to be shown.

06:26I think just following our chat with Bill, like how wonderful it is to give a gift,

06:30but also just the joy that I think has come out of this whole experience.

06:34We will produce something magical, I'm sure.

06:37There's plenty to do, so I'm going to let you get on.

06:39Good luck.

06:40Thank you very much.

06:41See you soon.

06:42See you later.

06:49What an amazing story.

06:52Extraordinarily moving in many ways.

06:55I think there's something between them.

06:58This bond, I think that's what she'll have to try and capture.

07:03And I think that will create something quite amazing.

07:13Karen has come to Scotland to meet Grace and Amy at their parents' home where they grew

07:18up.

07:18She wants to better understand the sisters and their relationship.

07:22The whole family is here to welcome her.

07:25Hello.

07:27So nice to see you.

07:28Hello.

07:29How are you?

07:29I'm good.

07:30How are you?

07:31Hello.

07:32I've heard a lot about you.

07:33Yeah.

07:34This is Amy.

07:35Nice to meet you, Amy.

07:37Freshly bathed.

07:38I'm looking forward to just sort of seeing how you all just live.

07:41Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

07:43Get up to.

07:44Shall we?

07:45I would love to.

07:47Yeah, yeah.

07:49Oh, yay.

07:50Fabulous.

07:51Is that one fine?

07:52Thank you very much.

07:54Well, it's amazing to actually finally meet her.

07:57So how old is she now?

07:58A bit.

07:59Four and a half months.

08:00Yeah, yeah.

08:01Wow.

08:01Beautiful and life changing.

08:03Yeah, yeah, definitely.

08:04Yeah, yeah.

08:05Something I would really love to ask you two.

08:07Did you know when you first met that Grace was going to have difficulty conceiving?

08:13Yeah.

08:14So I think it's back in 2009 that Grace told me about her MRKH diagnosis.

08:22So, yeah, we knew quite early on that this was a journey that we'd be going through together.

08:25Yeah.

08:25I definitely wanted to tell Angus very early on because I sort of felt that could be a deal-breaker

08:30in him wanting to be in a relationship with me.

08:32How did you feel when you knew this might be something that would happen?

08:36Because it can't have been an easy thing to kind of deal with.

08:40To be kind of honest, there was trepidation at the start.

08:43I wasn't 100% bought in.

08:46It's a big risk.

08:47It's a lengthy operation.

08:48And it quickly became apparent how much it meant to Amy.

08:52And the kids were younger at the time as well.

08:55Our kids and so.

08:56That was the most difficult part, was arriving home in a state that they had never, ever seen me.

09:02Yeah, I wish I'd never, she'd never needed to go through that for me.

09:05But, yeah, I'm so grateful that she was able to.

09:18For Grace, I know that she's talked about, like, the physical need to have a child.

09:24That's worst of all, really, because she would watch other people and she would go out and smile.

09:32And this was something that she would perhaps never be able to do.

09:36And it did affect her mental health and she did feel down a lot of the time.

09:42I mean, that's one of the wonderful things about what has happened.

09:45It's not just, obviously, to see little Amy is wonderful and a great gift.

09:50But the other bonus is to see Grace transformed.

10:03Seeing Grace and Amy together in a really relaxed way has helped me sort of think about how maybe I

10:07want them to look.

10:08In the painting, I've been thinking about composition.

10:11They are so relaxed around each other, so happy around each other, and I want to bring that in.

10:23The box has arrived. I'm about to get it out.

10:27And I'm still second-guessing my choices.

10:29I'm still worried that I've gone too big.

10:32If it's too late to change my mind, I'm just gonna... I'm just gonna get started.

10:44Well, I'm at the studio where Karen is fully into her process.

10:49It's the biggest project she's ever taken on.

10:51So I'm really keen to see how this portrait is progressing.

10:55Hey, how are you doing? Good, how are you? Good to see you.

10:57Good to see you. You too.

10:58So, tell me about Scotland. It was amazing.

11:00Brilliant. Such a beautiful place, such a lovely family.

11:02I guess you've had some ideas about composition and how you're gonna approach it.

11:07It needs to be quite an intimate painting, I think.

11:09But I'm thinking, can I do full body and still have that happen?

11:12So this is challenge number one.

11:14What is this? I mean, this is huge.

11:16This is effectively a giant sketchbook.

11:18So normally, I think what most people would do...

11:20I don't normally paint anywhere near as big as this.

11:22Because I don't work big, I kinda need to see it big to work out if that's gonna work for

11:26me.

11:26So I thought you could actually help me with just sort of blocking out some shapes.

11:29Oh, okay. So this is just to get a sense of what...

11:32Just to get a sense, yeah.

11:32...how it would fill the space.

11:33How would they fill the space if we did a full body image like this?

11:37Yeah. Straight away, I think that one.

11:40Yeah, me too. The two of them together.

11:41I agree.

11:42You know, it's a little bit staged because they're doing this sort of thing with the shoes.

11:46But it's kind of quite funny and it's quite charming and it's...

11:50It says something about their connection, I think.

11:51Yes.

11:52But it's also a good place to start because that's us finding out if we put that onto here...

11:56...how big all their faces be.

11:57Oh, I see, yeah.

11:58Because I don't want to do an enormous painting for me, but then they're tiny within it.

12:03Do you want to give it a go?

12:04No, okay.

12:04So yeah, it really doesn't matter what this looks like.

12:06It is just mapping...

12:07It's just really for sort of...

12:08...blocks of shapes.

12:09Mapping the blocks of shapes.

12:10Right, okay.

12:11So then we can actually really kind of feel whether there's enough impact at that size or not.

12:17Mm.

12:18And that, to me, doesn't feel right.

12:20Right, okay.

12:21I think we should look at the other picture.

12:23Why do you like this one?

12:25I think in this, because we've got them...

12:27Their faces are so much more prominent.

12:29We don't have the full body.

12:30Mm.

12:30We can go larger.

12:32It just is a more intimate shot.

12:46It's just worth doing this rather than going up, doing a sitting, shooting images that aren't going to work.

12:53It's amazing, isn't it?

12:54It's just how moving shapes around.

12:56Yeah.

12:57Altering the relationship between them.

12:59Does a totally different thing.

13:00There's a totally different feel that comes from it.

13:03Yeah.

13:03So we now know something behind a table.

13:05And then it's getting that connection while they're there.

13:09And I'll paint whichever one feels like it says the thing.

13:13I mean, do you know what?

13:14I like it.

13:21I'm not just painting one person and one story, but I'm painting a bond.

13:25So I've got a lot of questions that I want to ask when I get up to Scotland to see

13:30them.

13:34Karen paints directly onto raw canvas, which means there's no opportunity to correct mistakes later.

13:41So the pose she chooses during the sitting has to be exactly right.

13:45Every angle, gesture and expression must be perfect in the moment.

13:49So I was hoping you could show me around a little bit and sort of find some locations that maybe

13:54we could shoot some photos.

13:59So is this the kind of thing you would normally do when you were growing up here?

14:02Yeah.

14:03We had quite a lot of different jobs.

14:06Go on sheep!

14:08Where's our herd or we need them?

14:10I can run up the field and see if I can do it.

14:11We need a sheep dog.

14:20Go on.

14:25Just seeing them living this kind of life just helps me because I do want to make sure that I

14:29somehow bring this location in.

14:31You are rubbish, Grace.

14:34It's a lot of fields to cover.

14:36I think those sheep are mocking us.

14:44While Grace gets on with the farm work, Karen takes the opportunity to talk to Amy about the impact of

14:50the procedure on her.

14:51Have you noticed a change in Grace since the operation?

14:56It was remarkable, the difference in her.

14:59She just thought she was missing out on having a baby, but she was missing out on feeling female, I

15:05guess.

15:06And did you feel differently afterwards?

15:09Yeah.

15:09I've heard people say there's that real feeling of loss.

15:12Mm.

15:13But this is...

15:13And you...

15:14And personally, you grieve something.

15:16And I think I probably would say I experienced that in a way.

15:22But because it was a gift to somebody else...

15:25It's not gone, it's just gone somewhere else.

15:27I just feel...

15:31I feel so lucky to have been able to make such a difference in somebody else's life.

15:39I wondered if we could pick something from the garden.

15:44How much of it did you want?

15:45I mean, that's perfect.

15:47Yeah, it's just to sort of, you know, represent where we are.

15:50Oh, yeah.

15:59It would be nice to see a few of you sort of maybe looking at me, looking around.

16:03I mean, I know it's awkward when I'm sat here looking at you,

16:05because I don't want it to feel posed.

16:07I want you to feel like you're natural.

16:16We talked to each other about how it felt on the day that you went in for the operation.

16:21Everyone else was still up in bed asleep.

16:23One of us said to the other one,

16:26I feel alright.

16:27Yeah, yeah.

16:28And it was like, I feel okay.

16:31And then you went, so do I.

16:33We just took a deep breath.

16:36And just be brave.

16:38These pictures are so beautiful.

16:52I always felt guilty that I didn't, that I felt as bad as I did about not being able to

16:57have kids in the way I wanted to have them.

16:59And you never made me feel like that.

17:01You never needed to justify it.

17:02It was never something I was doing for you in a way.

17:05It was just something that I, that was for all of us.

17:09I feel glad that you can see what it means.

17:12Like, I think that's, that's the massive thing for me is that my life looks a lot different now.

17:19So, yeah, it's just, yeah, that, yeah, I feel free.

17:26You actually made me cry.

17:30Having them speak to each other like that really showed that emotion.

17:40Fabulous.

17:40I've got so many.

17:41They're gorgeous.

17:42I'm glad.

17:50It's nice just to kind of step back a little bit and just watch them together.

17:56It's family.

17:57It's just everybody in the family is clearly so important to each other.

18:10I don't really want people in a still moment.

18:12I want them to be as alive as possible.

18:14And that's not the easiest thing to achieve.

18:16Everything hinges on getting this right, especially the way I paint.

18:20I can't just sort of shuffle a person over.

18:23I can't redo a thing.

18:24So if you get this wrong, that's the whole painting.

18:38This has probably been the most problematic painting I've ever done.

18:42So I have definitely come up with some images that are really hard to get right.

18:49There's bits of a painting that could be not perfect and you couldn't get away with.

18:53And there's bits that you can't get away with.

18:55And the face is one of those.

19:03I've had some worrying messages from Karen.

19:06And I know she's struggling with the portrait.

19:09So I'm going to give her a quick ring to see how she's doing.

19:14Hello.

19:15Hey, how are you doing?

19:16All right.

19:17I kind of started badly.

19:20And it's got worse.

19:21When I chose the images I was going to put together for like the composite image that I was going

19:25to paint,

19:26they didn't really think about the angles that their faces are at.

19:29And I've chosen both of the really complicated angles.

19:33That means it's really hard to get a likeness.

19:35Right.

19:36I haven't given up, but it is...

19:38It's an option.

19:40I think I am probably...

19:41I was kind of trying not to do this, but I think I'm going to order a backup canvas.

19:45Just in case.

19:46We're getting close to the reveals.

19:48I don't want to paint in a panic.

19:50And if I think this is the only option I've got, then I might ruin it just through panic.

19:56You've still got a bit of time.

19:57There's a very sort of narrow window of opportunity here.

20:01That's why I have to do it now.

20:02It's kind of sort of now or never.

20:04Yeah.

20:05I'm sending you the very best of luck.

20:09I need it.

20:09Talk about putting yourself under pressure.

20:11See, this is the problem with the way that Karen works.

20:18And that is that she paints directly onto the raw canvas.

20:23It does mean you have to get it right first time.

20:26There's no real room for error.

20:36While Karen waits for a new canvas, she will attempt to rescue the painting she's been working on.

20:41I'm about 30 hours in, which actually is still quite early.

20:46You know, this I would expect to take at least 100 hours.

20:49So yeah, it does feel like there's a hugely long road ahead still.

20:58I think today's been a bit of a breakthrough because I feel like I've just spent days and days and

21:04days battling with these likenesses convinced I was never going to manage it.

21:08And with this extra canvas just kind of begging me to give up and start again.

21:17But I've done it. I actually am really happy with the way the painting is looking at the moment.

21:23I'm just feeling really good that I will be able to pull it off and pull it off in time.

21:39After some stressful challenges and the extra hours of painting to complete the portrait, Karen is finally happy to reveal

21:46it to Grace and Amy.

21:48Hi, Karen.

21:49Give us a hand.

21:49How are you doing? All right?

21:50I'm feeling all right.

21:52Well, it's exciting. It's all very real.

21:54It is very real. Yeah.

22:00Grace and Amy have brought their mum, Jane, dad, Jimmy, Ben and Ari, two of the doctors from the womb

22:06transplant team, and Grace's husband, Angus, with, of course, baby Amy.

22:18Congratulations.

22:19Thank you, guys.

22:20Cheers.

22:21Cheers.

22:22Can I just first ask, what's going on here?

22:25Well, this painting is the biggest I've ever done, so I can't quite reach the top.

22:30So you probably need a hand with the...

22:31I probably will.

22:32Reveal.

22:33If you can reach.

22:34Yeah, I think so.

22:35So, Grace, how are you feeling?

22:37I just kind of hope that she's captured our relationship somehow in the portraits.

22:42I've no idea what the portrait's going to be like, but, yeah, just really excited.

22:48I am nervous, because you always are, and you never know how people will feel when they see themselves in

22:52this way.

22:53Like, you know, you're looking at yourself through somebody else's eyes.

22:56Yes.

22:57It's often very different, isn't it?

22:58She wouldn't have been here without you two, so thanks for coming.

23:01It's just amazing and a privilege to be part of this amazing story.

23:05If you're ready, then I'll go and get the family.

23:08Fabulous.

23:10All right.

23:11Portrait viewing this way.

23:25Welcome, everyone.

23:26This is the big day, the big reveal.

23:29How's everyone feeling?

23:30Pretty nervous now.

23:32It looks huge.

23:37It feels real now.

23:39There's a lot to convey.

23:41It's a bit of a challenge, isn't this, Karen?

23:43This has honestly been a really challenging painting, but it's also been incredibly rewarding.

23:47Okay.

23:48Everyone ready?

23:56Okay, Karen.

23:58Let's do this.

23:59Thank you all.

24:00Three, two, one.

24:04Oh.

24:05Wow.

24:07Oh, yeah.

24:08I'm laughing.

24:09Oh, that's really nice.

24:11It's so beautiful.

24:13Oh, it's so lovely.

24:22That's wonderful.

24:23I just think it captures us in a relationship.

24:28You can tell how much we love each other, which is really special.

24:32That's what I wanted you to convey, so thank you.

24:48You've just done a really good job.

24:52These are the precious moments for us, the one you've captured just there.

24:56It's really beautiful, thank you.

24:58It feels like a moment that I've seen a thousand times, and it happens in a flicker, and you've

25:03caught exactly the moment where, you know, they just erupt into laughter with one another,

25:09and you can see that familiarity, that love between them.

25:13We know the story behind that, and we know, you know, how much everybody had to go through to get

25:20to that point.

25:21And I think that's why the emotion has run high.

25:28There's lots of downs as well as ups.

25:31And this is really wonderful, because, yeah, this is a personal endeavour for me and Angus to have our family,

25:37but everybody has sacrificed something in order for that to happen.

25:40It's affected our whole family.

25:42It wasn't just, it was the three of us, it was everybody has helped us get there.

25:46Yeah, I hope it's just a celebration of what everyone has sacrificed for us to have this beautiful daughter.

25:53This is a story about love, and the love and bond between you two is what made the impossible possible.

26:02I'm definitely not going to cry, but I am getting shifts down my spine just thinking about it.

26:08And I think, Karen, you've just caught it perfectly.

26:16You've been through so much, but it feels like you've, you know, you've got this immense strength between all of

26:24you that will carry you forward.

26:26More than anything, I wanted to show your bond and the love of the whole family.

26:31The first thing you see in that is the joy and the celebration and the moments that, you know, you

26:36come back to when things are difficult.

26:37There's also the strength. I hope it shows strength as much as it shows joy and celebration.

26:44Thank you. Yeah, thanks.

26:48What Karen and I are going to do now, we're just going to step out for a minute and invite

26:54you to come forward and take a closer look.

26:57All right, see you in a bit.

26:59Thanks.

27:06It's so soft. I love that.

27:09It is just that the flowers are a special touch as well, just the way she's caught these.

27:14I can see a real twinkle in both your eyes.

27:16I know, yeah.

27:24Karen, how are you feeling?

27:27It's overwhelming.

27:29Yeah.

27:29It's just, it's a lot, isn't it?

27:32To, you put so much into it and you're not used to, you know, you're alone with the painting for

27:38weeks on end.

27:39And then suddenly it's like in one enormous moment.

27:44It is such a big experience.

27:46Cup of tea?

27:47See, I don't drink tea.

27:49What?

27:54That reveal was very powerful.

27:57It was, I think, quite emotionally overwhelming.

28:04It says love and courage, sacrifice, unshakable bond between sisters.

28:12And I guess really what that moment captures is this spark of joy.

28:27Hey.

28:55TheABUK.

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