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Carolyn Quinn speaks to Claire Derry

Carolyn Quinn speaks to Claire Derry, the mother of Samuel Woodhead, the British teenager who went missing in the Australian outback in February 2013.

As a Radio 4 presenter, covering a range of stories everyday, Carolyn Quinn interviews people while the story is live but rarely gets the chance to find out what happened next.

For these editions of One to One, Carolyn wanted to find out what happens to individuals who've found themselves in the media spotlight and have had to live with intense, unsolicited scrutiny. How do they cope once the media caravan has moved on and they have to try to get on with their lives

This week, Carolyn speaks to Claire Derry, the mother of Samuel Woodhead, the British teenager who went missing in the Australian outback in February 2013.

Samuel Woodhead was working on a cattle station in rural Queensland - just a few days into his gap year in Australia - when he decided to go for a run. He failed to return and was reported missing. A land and air search eventually found him three days later: three stone lighter, severely dehydrated and apparently 'hours from death'.

In this interview Claire Derry describes what it was like to cope with what had happened to her son, at the same time as dealing with intense media interest which - at one stage - turned against her son, accusing him of deliberately getting lost. And has she been able to return to "life as normal" after the experience?

Producer: Karen Gregor.

Available now

15 minutes

Last on

Fri 26 Feb 2016 12:04

Broadcasts

  • Tue 24 Sep 2013 09:30
  • Fri 26 Feb 2016 12:04

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