Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, co-founder of The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation and mother of a daughter who died from a severe allergic reaction, has voiced concerns about the portrayal of food allergies in recent films and television dramas. She argues that these portrayals often misrepresent the severity of food allergies and risk spreading dangerous misconceptions.
Ednan-Laperouse points to a trend in screenwriting that exploits food allergies for dramatic or comedic effect. She highlights the film *The Roses*, featuring Olivia Colman as a chef with a raspberry allergy, where a character deliberately contaminates food with raspberries, triggering a severe allergic reaction. In the film, the use of an EpiPen—a crucial adrenaline auto-injector for allergic emergencies—is depicted inaccurately, both in administration and the response to the reaction. Ednan-Laperouse stresses that such depictions can trivialize allergies and promote misunderstandings, suggesting that allergic reactions are either manageable by choice or exaggerated.
Her concerns extend beyond *The Roses*. She cites other examples, including *All Her Fault*, a series that shows a character intentionally exposing her husband to an allergen, and the stage play *Inside No 9: Stage/Fright*, where nuts are used as a source of humor despite the potential for danger. Even children’s media have come under scrutiny; the 2018 *Peter Rabbit* film includes a scene involving allergic triggers as a source of conflict, which Ednan-Laperouse contends sends misleading messages about the nature of allergies.
Ednan-Laperouse stresses that food allergies are life-threatening medical conditions rather than sources of entertainment. Severe allergic reactions, such as anaphylaxis, can cause rapid swelling of the lips and throat, making breathing difficult and requiring immediate treatment. She recounts her own experience with her daughter Natasha, who suffered multiple severe allergic reactions from infancy and ultimately died after anaphylaxis caused by sesame exposure on a flight in 2016. Despite prompt use of two EpiPens administered by her father, Natasha’s reaction required urgent hospital care that was unavailable during the flight.
The foundation established by Ednan-Laperouse and her husband now focuses on raising awareness of the realities of food allergies, including educational outreach in schools. Their work is driven by statistics indicating that while approximately two children in every classroom have a food allergy, most teaching staff lack allergy training. Television dramas such as *Waterloo Road* have sought their guidance to portray allergies more accurately.
Ednan-Laperouse has reached out to the makers of *The Roses* with her concerns but says she has not received a response. She hopes future film and television productions will approach the portrayal of severe food allergies with greater accuracy, as misrepresentations could reduce public understanding of how serious allergic reactions are and how to respond effectively in emergencies. Failure to do so, she warns, could ultimately endanger lives.