Chatham and Riley have learning difficulties, just as Allie and Tom do in real life. The brothers first appeared in EastEnders in 2017 as part of the Taylor family. These real and on-screen brothers are another favourite of mine thanks to a recent storyline tackling disability hate crime and bullying.
Chatham and Riley Taylor played by Alfie and Tom Jacobs We also got to see Honey have to fight to ensure Janet receives the right education, a situation that I am sure many parents of disabled children are familiar with. The storyline demonstrated the struggles that many parents go through in embracing their child’s disability. But, eventually, she came to accept her and be a protective parent. Initially, Honey rejected Janet and even wanted her dead. Although Janet has a limited storyline – she is a child after all – her presence in the soap has opened up many conversations about having a disabled child. Grace has played the character of Janet Mitchell from ‘birth’ up until now. Janet Mitchell played by GraceĬhild actor Grace appeared as a baby in Eastenders back in 2006 when Billy and Honey Mitchell had a daughter with Down’s Syndrome. Instead, his presence revolved around other main characters. He also didn’t have any major storylines. He was a slightly bitter character and brought his disability up whenever faced with rejection. However, I personally didn’t like Adam and don’t think that, overall, he served the disability community very well. His character was also a student at Oxford University, demonstrating that disability does not limit your educational path. He also had a relationship with abled-bodied character Libby, which will have made the average viewer realise that disabled people can have sexual relationships. His character had a nasty streak as opposed to being angelic, which is how many disabled people are often portrayed and assumed to be. There were some real positives to his appearance. Like Adam, David is a wheelchair user and has Spina Bifida. Although he was in the soap for less than a year, he was the first adult actor with a visible disability to make a regular appearance on the soap. Head to the Disability Horizons Shop to find stylish and practical solutions to everyday problems.ĭavid Proud got the role of Adam Best in EastEnders in 2009. It has been claimed that the play reflects her frustrations on Albert Square around the fact that bosses only gave her the role to tick BBC diversity boxes.
Lisa left Eastenders in 2018 and has since written a play called Still No Idea, in which she stars as a disabled actress trying to make it big in mainstream telly. Donna also didn’t have a great wealth of storylines and her love interests were ‘the losers of the square’ or comical characters. Sadly, these points were bought up in one scene or two scenes, but never mentioned again. We also saw her stuck when going out due to a lack of accessible taxis. She talked about how hospitals were her weekly ‘outing’ and how people had no idea that she was always in pain. Her character felt very relatable to many disabled people, especially when she brought attention to various disability issues that many non-disabled people are oblivious to. She didn’t tolerate nonsense and had a wicked sense of humour. But, having started out with great potential, it is also one of the most disappointing.ĭonna was a market trader with attitude. Donna Yates has to be one of my favourite disabled soap characters. Disabled characters in Eastendersīorn with a restricted growth condition, wheelchair user Lisa Hammondlanded the role of Donna Yates in Eastenders in 2014, where she stayed for four years. Let us know what you think of how these disabled characters are portrayed by leaving your comments below, tweeting us on Twitter or posting on Facebook. So my list focuses on those where the actor and character both have a disability. Although over the years there have been many portrayals of disabled characters, not many of them are played by disabled actors. This self-identification with soap characters grew as the introduction of disabled characters became a natural element rather than a token gesture. They offer me an escape from reality and, at the same time, give me a sense of familiarity – the characters are often facing the same challenges we do. There is a certain magic to them that I don’t find in films or drama series. Soap fan and Disability Horizons writer Raya AlJadir rounds up 10 disabled characters, all played by disabled actors, from the four main British Soaps – Eastenders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.įor as long as I can remember, soap operas have been one of my greatest passions.
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