Broadcaster and midlife icon Jo Good made her first public appearance at the HELLO! Second Act Live event this week since being involved in the fatal Bedford train crash on 19 June.
Still visibly bruised and nursing a fractured cheekbone, 71-year-old Jo - who is known for her light-hearted positive outlook - was an absolute trooper and refused to let the dramatic incident stop her from meeting with our fabulous community at the Bankside Hotel.
As you'll hear on the live podcast recording, the ever glamorous Jo joked about her appearance before becoming emotional as she opened up to host Ateh Jewel about the physical and emotional impact the ‘near-death experience’ has had on her.
“I live in Marylebone, and I think people just think I've had a bad face job,” she laughed, before welling up as she explained the events of the fateful day.
“I was on the train crash last week with my very good friend Paula Sutton (Hillhouse Vintage). We were coming back from the event and we were in the train that stopped and the express train hit us. My whole take on life has altered in the past ten days, truly. I don't know if anyone here has had a near-death experience, but you literally re-see everything.
“I'm just very, very lucky because I walked off that train and not everybody did.”
© Amit Lennon162 people were injured in the incident just outside Bedford, and train driver Shaun Burton, 60, sadly died.
Jo, who was rushed to hospital where she was treated for a fractured cheekbone, says the experience of the crash gave her a new sense of her own mortality. Without family members to call on, she leant on her close friends to get her through.
“I don't have a partner, through choice, I don't have children. I have a brother who has no idea what I do.
“I always used to say if I was on I'm A CelebrityGet Me Out of Here, who the hell would wait for me on the other side of the bridge?
“After the train crash, we were all left in a field for three hours because of the emergency services trying to get to us.
“I was by the side of the track, and I thought I ought to call someone. And everyone's ringing husbands, children, grandchildren, can you, can you pick me up? And I called my agent.
“And he said ‘I’m on another call at the moment.’ And then he was very, very attentive. But that's a bit of an eye opener, isn't it? Who do I call?
“But who gathered around me and gave me support was my female friends. They were all there for me. And so you don't choose your family, you choose your friends and the company of women I just adore.
“They'll help you. They'll pick you up. I'm sure all of your friends have helped you in times of need and support.”
Jo thanked the NHS ‘angels’ who looked after her on the night, including one doctor who had been dealing with his own medical condition but rushed to Bedford Hospital to help treat her and others. The painful injury she sustained meant she is unable to practice yoga until her cheekbone is fully healed as she can’t tip her face downwards.
While many would have taken to their beds and put a pause from work to recover from such a terrifying experience, Jo found heading back to work to be cathartic.
And the evening was full of fun and laughter as she met with the Second Act community to share advice on confidence in midlife, pivoting her career, fashion advice and more that you can listen to on our live podcast recording.
“I did think maybe I might take my foot off the pedal,” she says. “It was really weird. But in fact, I just wanted to get back on the horse, and I just just want to work, work, work, work, work now. So this has been so really healing for me.
“Just hearing you all laugh and everything while I’m sitting here showing off, talking about my life, I mean, what privilege.”
So, what advice does she have for women in midlife? Bring it on!
“You can't deny age. You can't defy age. I've embraced it because I never felt old. I still don't feel old, but I know that I'm extremely vulnerable.
“You learn a life lesson from each catastrophe, tragedy, disaster and joy I think, so that gives you confidence.
“From being an actress to a radio presenter to then falling into social media at the age of 68, which is something I never expected to be honest. I arrived at 71 and I just thought, right. Bring it on. Because nothing is going to stop me now.”
Listen to this special live edition of the Second Act podcast featuring Ateh Jewel and Jo Good, now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts and Youtube.
