Celebrity in ulcerative colitis shocker!

I was just wondering if there were any famous people with ulcerative colitis? And if there were would they be willing to talk about it in public? For instance, would Victoria Beckham risk tainting the precious Beckham brand by coming out and saying she has a slightly funny sounding bowel disease? But let’s say she did reveal she suffers from ulcerative colitis, could that really, actually, actually damage her image? Can you still be seen as sexy when you’ve told the world you sometimes have to go to the toilet ten times a day? And it can sometimes be a bit noisy. And there’s blood involved. And sometimes you don’t make it in time. I suspect she’d prefer to remain known as Posh Spice, rather than Poo Spice. Much more marketable, wouldn’t you say? I was interested to know what an expert had to say on the subject, so here’s an email I sent to PR guru Max Clifford:

Dear Mr Clifford,

I don’t wish to take up too much of your time, but I wonder if you could spare a minute to answer a question I have?

I suffer from an inflammatory bowel disease called ulcerative colitis, which is one of those slightly embarrassing problems that few people feel comfortable talking about. (Although it’s the only thing I talk about on my blog, www.numbertwos.blogspot.com)

So, my question, then: if a celebrity, perhaps someone young, glamorous and sexy, maybe in the pop world, had ulcerative colitis, do you think it would be detrimental to their image to talk about their disease? If that celebrity were a client of yours would you advise against it?

I’m not aware of any famous UC sufferers, although there must be some out there. I think if a celebrity were to come out and talk about having ulcerative colitis it might make it easier for the rest of us to be more open. Certainly I think it would really help younger sufferers.

Any thoughts you have would be of great interest. Many thanks for your time.

Martin

I'll keep you posted...