Achi news desk-
Dr Ronx Ikharia in a promotional photo for The Truth About Boosting Your Immune System (BBC)
As well as being an amazing TV presenter who has led BBC documentaries such as The Truth About Your Immune SystemDr Ronx Ikharia is also an inspiring trans and non-binary A&E doctor, role model, mentor and activist who uses them/them/their pronouns.
Dr Ronx has also led other series in the past, most notably The Indignant Dr. Ronx on BBC Threeand a children’s medical show Campaign Ouch! on CBBC.
They also presented a Channel 4 documentary Is COVID Racist? in November 2020.
In March 2024, they were criticized for attending a protest in London, with the Daily Mail complaining: “A CBBC presenter has been accused of leading a transgender rights mob which set off smoke bombs yesterday and tried to hold a conference on gender issues. ”
This “mob” was actually a protest against the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) for hosting the Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender (Can-SG) conference, a group accused of being “fascists in disguise behind stethoscopes” because of his insistence on limiting access to trans health care for young people.
Who is Dr Ronx Ikharia, and what is their background?
Dr Ronx Ikharia trained as an emergency medicine doctor, and self-funded his way through medical school after leaving home as a teenager, working part-time in retail and as a fashion model and dancer in music videos to pay for their training. They graduated in 2011.
After graduation, they worked as an expedition field doctor in India before starting a D&A career. Dr Ronx has described their upbringing as “difficult”, and uses their own story to help inspire and motivate young people from similar backgrounds.
They work in Hackney, and volunteer their spare time to give inspirational talks to local young people. Other charity work that Dr Ronx has been involved in includes raising £1,000 for Syrian refugees in 2017, and £2,000 to send more than 400 young people of color in London’s East End to see Black Panther together with their parents and carers.
Their motto is: “You can’t be what you don’t see.” They also work as a mentor, helping young people in Hackney with interview techniques and finding relevant work experience.
At one of their talks in Hackney they were spotted by a TV presenter and offered their first presenting job, on a children’s TV program called Operation Ouch. After that, they were the lead on BBC Three The Indignant Dr. Ronxproviding consultations to people who are reluctant to go to hospital for treatment, often due to mental health or identity issues.
Other TV work from Ronx Ikharia
Dr Ronx introduced The Truth About Boosting Your Immune System, the latest in a BBC science documentary series which aims to tackle “everyday issues that affect us all” as well as dispel myths. Each episode features different presenters and experts in their fields.
They also presented Are Women The Fitter Sex? on Channel 4 in 2021.
Dr Ronx lifted the lid on the multi-billion dollar health industry, which peddles products that promise to “boost” or charge up our immune system – quite a hot topic due to the current pandemic. They looked at what science – if any – supported their companies’ claims. Many people celebrated the fact that Dr. Ronx wore a trans flag pin during the episode.
Is COVID Racist?
In 2020, Dr Ronx fronted a Channel 4 documentary Is COVID Racist? in response to the pandemic. In the show, they asked why such a disproportionate number of Black and minority ethnic people – including NHS staff – have died from COVID. The program looked at genetics and pre-existing medical conditions, as well as wider social issues such as institutional racism.
Dr Ronx is an outspoken activist with many Twitter and Instagram followers. In January they responded to the US Capitol riots, condemning the mob of pro-Trump domestic terrorists who stormed the building.
On 6 January, they took to Twitter to write: “I feel very angered by what is happening in Washington. When Black people rioted for Black lives they were called terrorists and the police tried to kill them. Trump has instigated this protest and these angry men (mostly white) have said that the security is easy to overwhelm!”
They have since left Twitter – X now – as have many LGBTQ+ people, following an increase in hate speech on the platform since it was taken over by Elon Musk.
You can follow Dr Ronx on Instagram.
