Dawn Porter might just be the most real person on telly. If not, she’s one of the most honest. Everyone on the box these days tries so hard to appear like an expert, be it as a judge on a show, or as a sour-faced investigator of something or other. With Dawn, it’s not the case. She’s clearly an intelligent girl, but she isn’t afraid to be a bit dippy or giddy or frightened or… all the things all of us are from time to time. Last night, we saw Ms. Porter run the whole gamut of emotions in Dawn Gets a Baby (BBC Three, Thursday, 9pm).

Of course, Dawn didn’t get up the duff just for this show and document her pregnancy… I’m not sure if that’s been done before but I’m betting it has… and quite a few times at that. No, Dawn wanted to find the truth about childbirth. Why? Well, like loads of women, she is terrified of going through all that pain… stretching… being cut open… the possibility of never recovering you shape (in more ways than one)… so why has no-one looked at this before?

There are loads of questions unanswered for women who haven’t gone through childbirth. As Dawn found out, if you ask, most mums can’t really remember. Why is that? Are they being all oochie-woochie and their brains have turned into Farley’s Rusk (with milk on of course)* or is it something else? Dawn went out to find the truth for herself.

Along the way, Dawn talked to various experts (midwifes, doctors and a lady who specialises in natural births) as well as mums themselves. In turn, they were all helpful in sharing the practices of birthing and the like and the mums, god bless you women out there, told of what happens during and after pregnancy. Dawn’s mixture of curious, pained, amused, pleased faces accompanied each tale of stretched vaginas (sorry to be so graphic), loss of libido, cracked nipple and… you get the picture.

Throughout all this, my admiration for women grew and grew. I mean, I’ve always been appreciative of women who go through childbirth and my mate who is a midwife has told me things that makes me more proud to know women. If you’re a bloke and you wanna know what a woman goes through, trying thinking of passing a tangerine through your already existing equipment.

Anyway, Dawn managed to get a lady to agree to let her be present during labour. She missed it… but that’s hardly important as she was allowed by another which she caught. For Dawn and for the viewer (this viewer at least), it was one of the most incredible pieces of TV ever aired. The range of emotions that course through you is sensational. For 90% of the labour, you wince at each cry of pain, each contraction… you think “poor woman… please make the pain stop” and then, after all that, a baby is born and you watch a room full of people nearly falling over with undiluted joy, to the point of tears for all… it’s incredibly moving. All that pain, all that struggle is worth it… and the viewer, along with Dawn, suddenly realise why women don’t really remember the whole thing because the child is THE thing to remember. Either that or they’re off their heads on gas ‘n’ air…

*I’m craving Farley’s Rusks with milk on now.