Why Shortland Street’s first fat storyline is such a big deal

Later, when checking on a painful infection Jocelyn had been hiding, Selina empathised with her. “It’s hard when your body size makes you a problem before you’ve walked into the room, isn’t it?” She then correctly pointed out to thin white doctor Phil that skin infections can happen to anyone (there is not a single illness exclusive to fat people, and weight and health are absolutely not the same thing), asking how Jocelyn would be treated if she was smaller, and she used her own experience to help the fatphobic doctor see things in a different light.

Crucially, Selina’s brother Viliami – a former professional rugby league player and personal trainer – also showed the allyship that non-fat people need to demonstrate. When the doctor turned up her nose and said “how could anyone let themselves get like this”, Viliami explained that calories in/calories out as a magic formula for weight loss was something that’s been debunked a long time ago. By that stage of the episode I was bawling – it was exactly what’s been missing on our screens.