To The Woman Who Heard Me - My Tribute to Baroness McDonagh

In 2008 I had the pleasure of being properly introduced to Baroness McDonagh or simply Margaret as she is known to friends, family and the multitude of people who love and adore her.

Margaret and I had loosely known each other socially for about a decade, however that 2008 meeting organised by our mutual friend Lord Alli changed everything!?FYI: I promise I don’t only know Lords and Boroness’s (though there is one more to come in one of the other episodes).

I properly connected with Margaret at what was an incredibly difficult period of my life or what those in spiritual circles call the dark night of the soul. ?In this case it didn’t just drizzle sorrow but poured it down torrentially,???my agent of 15years had passed away suddenly, I had just left my then TV show T4 after having fronted it for over nine years, I had come out of a serious long term relationship and was getting ready to make the move of a lifetime to America. To say I was feeling out of sorts is an understatement to say the least!

Margaret immediately took me under her wing and went into her signature fix-it mode, this a woman who had led all three of Tony Blair’s landslide electoral victories and helped to push through multiple legislation change whilst also running a successful business of her own. Somehow she found the time to help steer my transition to America and more importantly helped me to believe in myself again during this career and personal crisis. She was nurturing when she needed to be and stern when I was feeling too sorry for myself, all while making sure I didn’t forget to how important it was laugh too.

Margaret is known as one of the most feared and revered women in politics, yet she has such a zest for life and no matter how high she has risen she hasn’t forgotten her humble roots and is proudly still firm fixture of the working class community she grew up in Mitcham and Morden. She and her sister Siobhain who also happens to be the local MP can often be found at many a church fate or school navity play or fighting to save the local hospital from closure, the community knows them by first name and that they are proudly Mitcham and Morden through and through!

I feel incredibly blessed to have Margaret in my life, she has shown me you can be successful yet humble, strong and still vulnerable and do it all with a smile - even during the dark times. She is not only the woman who heard but also the woman who saw me and perhaps the woman I listen to most!

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