The Girlfriends: Spotlight, E20: Rosamund Clears the Air

The Girlfriends: Trust Me Babe

iHeartPodcasts and Novel

True Crime, Society & Culture, Relationships, Documentary

4.4 • 6.3K Ratings

🗓️ 30 March 2026

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 2013, Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah’s nine-year-old daughter, Ella, died from a catastrophic asthma attack. Her death transformed her mum into a formidable campaigner. First, she fought to find out what had killed Ella - why had her previously healthy little girl suddenly developed breathing problems so bad they would become fatal? The answer lay very close to home - Ella, Rosamund and her siblings lived just off the busy South Circular Road, and the air pollution levels were dangerously high. Rosamund’s fight led to Ella becoming the first person in the world to have air pollution listed as a cause of death on her death certificate. Now Rosamund is one of the world’s leading campaigners to clean up dirty air globally. In this episode, she’s joined by a very special guest: Anna’s mum, Rachel Sinfield. Rachel’s tiny son, Kit, also died from an unexpected asthma attack, and she’s inspired by Rosamund’s work. The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. For more from Novel visit novel.audio

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an I-Heart podcast.
0:03.2	Guaranteed Human.
0:07.4	Novel.
0:11.9	Hey, girlfriends. I just wanted to give you a heads up that this episode includes conversations
0:17.3	about losing a child to asthma. I want to stress that these are really extreme cases.
0:23.7	So if you or a loved one has got a manageable case of asthma like I do, please don't worry.
0:29.0	We mostly just get weasy when we go to the gym. But I'll also, as an added bonus to this
0:35.1	episode, be introducing you to my mother.
0:40.8	When I was very young, I was diagnosed with asthma, and my parents weren't taking any chances.
0:48.1	My bedroom floor was made up of courtboard tiles because carpets have mites and mites can trigger asthma.
0:54.6	Dust-catching curtains got replaced with blinds.
0:57.6	My bedding was a thin, lifeless but hyperalogenic duvet.
1:02.1	For most, it'd be over the top.
1:04.8	But I can understand why my parents did it.
1:11.1	18 months before I was born, my brother, Kit, died of a completely unexpected asthma attack.
1:18.6	He was just 17 months old.
1:21.0	And there I was, the hopeful new baby born into a house full of heavy hearts with the same
1:27.2	terrifying condition.
1:29.3	Although my parents' loss was never my loss, I do think it had a hand in shaping who I am today.
1:36.3	One of my earliest memories is finding my mum crying on the stairs and trying badly as a young child to comfort her. I've always been a bit of a watcher, often on the stairs and trying badly as a young child to comfort her.
1:45.0	I've always been a bit of a watcher, often on the outside of people's pain,
1:50.0	trying to reach in and soothe them.
	...

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