The toddler born deaf whose hearing’s been restored | Labour’s newest MP apologises

On this episode, Niall speaks to one of the doctors who worked to restore the hearing of an 18-month-old girl – who was born deaf.   
   
Medics at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge have used gene therapy to help a rare condition, auditory neuropathy. It’s caused by the disruption of nerve impulses travelling from the inner ear to the brain.   
    
Opal Sandy can now respond to her parents’ voices and can communicate words such as “Dada” and “bye-bye”. 
   
Plus, Natalie Elphicke, the MP who defected from the Conservatives to Labour yesterday, apologises for comments she made after her ex-husband, and predecessor as MP for Dover, was convicted of sexual assault in 2020.   
   
She said at the time that being "attractive" and "attracted to women" had made him an "easy target".   
   
Niall talks to deputy political editor Sam Coates about the disquiet within Labour about Mrs Elphicke’s arrival. 
 
Producer: Emma Rae Woodhouse 
Editor: Paul Stanworth