Overheard in Waitrose

“I've seen so many posts and memes about this guy, mostly taking the piss out of his looks. We all need laughs and a bit of dark humour in these times, but we do need to remember to be kind too. So I thought it'd be nice to balance things out with a few kinder words and some facts about our extraordinary Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty.

He is a Physician and Epidemiologist who has dedicated his life to medical practice, research and teaching and he is considered to be one of the leading world experts on infectious diseases.

He only took on the chief CMO role in October 2019, and until the coronavirus threat emerged, he had never done broadcast interviews or held press briefings or conferences.

His father was murdered by terrorists in Athens in a case of mistaken identity when he was just a teenager. An event which he says left him "scarred"

He has worked in various countries throughout Europe, Asia and Africa and played a leading role in the effort on the Ebola outbreak in 2014, when he held the post of chief scientific adviser at the Department for International Development.

Colleagues have described him as "Made for the role of CMO" and "an absolutely extraordinary, brilliant man" and "Exactly the man we need.”

We should all be glad to have someone like this helping the country through a health crisis right now. It doesn't matter what he looks like. He's not your Tinder match, he's just trying to keep us all safe. #bekind ❤”

Words by Stephanie Wood