Local government public health officials do not expect to gain celebrity status in the areas they serve. But it’s fair to say Steve Maddern is the best-known director of public health Swindon Borough Council has ever had. He joined the council in early April and has been thrust into the spotlight by the pandemic, holding regular Covid-19 press briefings and live question and answer sessions on the local authority’s Facebook page as case rates in the borough have risen, fallen and risen again. But the councillor who approved his appointment doesn’t see why Mr Maddern should have been fazed by 2020.