Dr Marc Lipman begins his plenary presentation at 'The Challenge of TB: UCL's Contribution' (UCL, 24th March 2010) by marking events of the past year including the release of the film Bright Star, documenting Keat's last years prior to his death from TB, and the death of Sir John Crofton - one of the pioneers in TB treatment - who died in 2009 aged 97 years. Dr Lipman presents figures illustrating an increase in numbers of active TB cases across the UK by 5.5% in 2009, noting a particular issue with rates in London, which are the highest per population of any capital city in western Europe.