Start the year with a fresh pledge to hire more disabled people, Wigan charity tells TV bosses
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TV executives should start the New Year with a pledge to feature more people with sight loss in their programmes, leading Wigan charity Henshaws has said, as it told them viewers “want and deserve” it.
Primetime BBC One show Strictly Come Dancing, which recently finished airing its 20th series and attracted millions of viewers each week, has never had a visually impaired contestant take part.
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Hide AdKevin Clifton, a former professional dancer on the show, told the Daily Star in 2023 that having a dancer who was visually impaired would be “great” for the show.
And Henshaws, which helps those with sight loss and other disabilities across northern England, agrees.
It says blind contestants should feature in a host of primetime TV and streaming service shows and wants programme and film bosses to do more to attract and retain people who have sight loss to showcase the “breadth of talent among people with disabilities”.
It comes after the success of hit Netflix series All the Light We Cannot See which was released in 2023 and stars blind actress Aria Mia Loberti as the main protagonist.
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Hide AdTV executives hired Loberti without her ever having starred in a professional acting film or series before, with critics lauding the decision.
And now Henshaws says bosses should go further and keep hiring people who are visually impaired, including but not only in roles where the character has a visual impairment.
Henshaws says TV executives could recruit more people with sight loss as part of their everyday programming; it doesn’t have be linked to a disabled-focused plot line.
This, they say, will help raise awareness of visual impairments and debunk the myths around what it’s like to live with a sight condition.
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Hide AdStephen Tongue, director of fund-raising at Henshaws, said: “TV stations have made great progress in hiring disabled talent but there is still more to be done – perhaps this could be their New Year’s resolution.
“Visually impaired people being cast in primetime shows or on major streaming service productions would boost awareness of sight conditions and the daily impact of living with sight loss.