Bravery in the face of a bout of 'tummy trouble'

On Sunday, I spent a good deal of time asking where Thomas had gone.

- RICHARD IRVINE

He'd make a brief reappearance, then disappear, and return looking both shocked and a little drained.

Eventually, Emma followed him and discovered he was struggling with what is clinically called diarrhoea, but is too difficult to spell, so we'll just say, "tummy trouble".

Quite why he'd kept it quiet was a mystery, as he's more likely to overshare if it means he can obtain an advantage over his sister.

Apart from spending the time he'd usually devote to television to sitting on the toilet, he was fine, but Victoria has a zero-tolerance approach to illness, whether life-threatening or in this case, inconvenient.