Rob Burrow wishes he could be a normal dad as Living with MND documentary out tonight on BBC Two

The former Leeds Rhinos scrum-half is now confined to a wheelchair as motor neurone disease takes hold of his body.

Rob Burrow: Living With MND airs tonight (Tuesday 18), and takes an intimate look at his life now, as 40-year-old Rob has passed his original two year life expectancy and survived a global pandemic.

Speaking to the YEP ahead of the release, Rob said he had no regrets about his career but wishes he could be a normal dad to Macy (10), Maya (7) and Jackson (3).

He said: “The worst thing about this disease is not being able to be a normal dad to the kids and kick the ball with Jackson and play with the girls.

"I hate seeing my Lindsey running around playing mum and dad.

"My kids have inspired me and I love it when they are loving life. It makes you never want to give in and I just love seeing them smile.”

Rob was diagnosed with MND in 2019, and since then his family has worked tirelessly to help raise awareness and funds for the condition.

Former rugby players are 15 times more likely to suffer from MND than the average person according to a new study, but Burrow is not entirely convinced by the findings and feels more research is needed.

“I have not changed my mind about impacts to the head having an impact on MND. I would have thought boxers would get it most,” he said.

"I think it has an impact but also has many factors, which is why more evidence is needed. When I played the game if I knew impacts to the head might bring on the condition then I would probably still risk it.”

Rob and his wife Lindsey, who cares for her husband full-time despite having to look after their three children and holding down a job as a physiotherapist, are the subjects of BBC documentary ‘Rob Burrow: Living with MND’.

It is a moving and intimate account of how the family are coping with the debilitating illness and yet somehow remain upbeat, with Burrow maintaining he is not ready to contemplate end of life.

In the heart-wrenching documentary, he says: “I’m a prisoner in my own body, that’s the way MND gets you. The lights are on but no one’s home.”

Essentially a private person, Lindsey opens up about the difficulties the family experience and, movingly, contemplates a future without her childhood sweetheart.

“I’ve watched it back and there were plenty of tears,” she said. “I cried pretty much all the way through it.

“As soon as I start talking about Rob and the children and the future, that’s where it pulls at your heart strings.”

Despite having passed his two year life expectancy Rob refuses to contemplate the future.

He told the YEP: “I refuse to talk about end of life because I refuse to let those negative thoughts enter my head.

"I’ve built up this positive mindset and think about growing old with Lindsey and seeing my kids grow up.”

Watch Rob Burrow: Living with MND on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer tonight (Tuesday 18) at 7pm.