Who is Lindsey Burrow and what condition does her husband Rob have?

Lindsey Burrow and her husband Rob, a former professional rugby league player with motor neurone disease (MND), are the main subjects of a new ITV special on the demands of unpaid caring.

The documentary, titled Lindsey Burrow: Who Cares for Our Carers?, airs on Thursday 1 February at 8.30pm on ITV1 and highlights the physical, emotional and financial demands of unpaid caring – a service she carries out for her husband and one which is worth an estimated £162bn each year in the UK.

MND is the general name given to a group of rapidly progressing terminal illnesses that affect nerves called motor neurones in the brain and spinal cord, which prevent signals from reaching muscles. This leads to gradual weakening of muscles and eventually paralysis.

The late British physicist Professor Stephen Hawking lived with a form of MND called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for 50 years. Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir was another prominent figure to suffer from MND, which reportedly affects up to 5,000 people in the UK at any one time.

Who is Lindsey Burrow?

Lindsey Burrow is a physiotherapist and the wife of Rob Burrow, who has lived with MND since his retirement.

She shares her personal experiences with caring for her wheelchair-bound husband in the ITV1 documentary.

The couple, who met in their teenage years and share three children, were previously the subject of BBC2 documentary Rob Burrow: Living with MND.

In 2023, Lindsey ran the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon, which was co-founded by Rob and his former Leeds Rhinos teammate Kevin Sinfield to help raise awareness for MND.

Who is Rob Burrow and what condition does he have?

Rob Burrow, 41, was born in West Yorkshire and played as a hooker and scrum-half for Super League side Leeds Rhinos for the entirety of his 16-year professional career, making nearly 500 league appearances between 2001 and 2017.

Standing at only five foot five inches tall and weighing less than 11 stone, Burrow won the Super League championship eight times as well as capturing two Challenge Cups and receiving several call-ups for the England and Great Britain squads for Test and World Cup matches.

Following his retirement in 2017, Burrow announced in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with MND, a treatable but incurable neurodegenerative condition for which rugby players have been found to be at a heightened risk.

Friends and ex-teammates Burrow and Sinfield were awarded CBEs in the New Year Honours List 2024 for their services to motor neurone disease awareness, having raised over £15m for charities since Burrows’ diagnosis.

Their efforts have so far included Sinfield, 43, completing the “7 in 7 in 7” challenge, which involves completing seven ultramarathons in seven cities in as many days.

The pair were presented with their CBEs by Prince William during a visit by the Prince of Wales to the Leeds Rhinos home ground, Headingley Stadium, in January.

How many children do Lindsey and Rob Burrow have?

Lindsey and Rob Burrow have three young children together: two daughters and a son.

The couple’s eldest and younger daughters are Macy and Maya, respectively, while their son is called Jackson.

Who is Geoff Burrow?

Geoff Burrow is the father of former rugby league player and Leeds Rhinos halfback Rob Burrow.

He said it was “one of the proudest days of my life” when his son was awarded with the Honourary Freedom of the City of Leeds in January 2024.