Dr Flowerpot Features on the Great British Menu

Earlier this year, during the filming, Ellis Barrie, one of the Great British Menu contestants in the North West Category took some time out of his job as a chef to be a Giggle Doctor for the afternoon alongside Dr Flowerpot. Ellis’ brother was treated in hospital as a child so he knows first-hand how difficult it can be for children in hospital. This is what inspired him to learn more about our work and how the Giggle Doctors help to make a hospital stay that little bit better.

Here Dr Flowerpot tells us what it was like to have Ellis working alongside her. 

“I had a great day working with Ellis. We did a pre-interview outside the wards and told him he was going to come on the wards with us. He was given a Giggle Doctor coat and we also gave him a Giggle Doctor name but I can’t remember what it was.     

He was very funny. He had a great energy about him which was brilliant for working with children. He was a little nervous but looking forward to spending some time with us.

To start with, we went to see a young lady who is 15. She had been coming into hospital for about the last six months. She was in isolation so we knocked and put our aprons and gloves on. I already knew her a bit which is good but Ellis had never met her before. We had a bit of teenage banter and then we decided to play a game that is a bit like snap but more complicated. That was fun and then I did a balloon challenge with both of them so I made a balloon and then Ellis had to copy it and she had to decide which was the best. She chose his which was very kind.

What I didn’t know at the time was the balloon I had chosen spontaneously was actually a fish shaped balloon. Guess what his course was on the great British menu… It was fish. It wasn’t until later that he told me this. What a coincidence.

After this, we went to the physiotherapists room where they were having a dance session in the room. This was not easy for Ellis as he was on crutches but he gave it a good go. That was great, though he said it was too much like hard work for him. It was great as a lot of the children with cystic fibrosis were on that ward. Dancing is much more fun than having to do proper exercise.

After that, we went and did a final how did it go interview. I just really enjoyed being with him. I think he laughed more than anybody I’ve ever worked with. We just had such a lovely time. He was so open to playing and being silly with the children and that was great.

I think Ellis would make a great Giggle Doctor. He was a new dad when we were at the hospital. He had just had his little boy and I think that was one of the motivations for him. Once you have a baby you quickly get switched on the needs of children. He is going to make a fab dad. He is very silly, light and bubbly. He would definitely make a good Giggle Doctor.  

He just had a really smiley, positive, fun personality. Him and his brother run their own restaurant together and I can imagine they have lots of fun and great banter.  

He had lots of bad dad jokes and lots of laugher. I’ve found over the years of working as a Giggle Doctor, the more you’re enjoying it and having fun, the more that transfers. If you’re having to make it feel like your acting, it’s not fun, it’s not spontaneous and you’re having to do things you know don’t work. But if you’re free and able to go with it, and giggle along with the kids, actually giggling is infections, so if you giggle and laugh a lot, it tends to transfer over to them. Ellis was really easy going like that. He wasn’t too self-aware or concerned with getting it right. He just let himself have fun and that’s what you need”.