BBC reporter Gary O'Donoghue reveals his mother considered killing them both when he went blind at the age of eight

Published: 01:05, 17 May 2026 | Updated: 01:09, 17 May 2026 BBC reporter Gary O'Donoghue today reveals how his mother considered killing them both after he went blind at the age of eight. Speaking on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, he tells a shocked Lauren Laverne how, far from holding any sense of bitterness towards his late mother Connie, he was touched that she had opened up to him. 'It made me understand how lonely it must have been for her and my father.' O'Donoghue, 58, is the BBC's chief North America correspondent.  His live reporting from the scene of President Trump's 2024 assassination attempt has been viewed more than 300 million times on social media. He had one eye removed when he was a baby and, when he was playing at school the day before his eighth birthday, he suddenly realised he couldn't see anything. BBC reporter Gary O'Donoghue today reveals how his mother considered killing them both after he went blind at the age of eight O'Donoghue told the show he will always be grateful to his parents who persevered in the face of enormous odds to ensure he would be able to fulfil his dreams. 'There was no support in those days at all.  'My mother told me that at one point when they'd made an artificial eye for me the nurse couldn't manage to put it in, so she wrapped it in a tissue and said, "You try when you get home".' - Desert Island Discs is on BBC Radio 4 today at 10am and available via BBC Sounds. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.