Here, there and everywhere!

As the annual round of media awards champion 2010's breakthrough talent and positive representation, Cathy Reay ponders whether the times really are a-changin' for disabled people yearning for a career on camera

It’s that time of year when the tuxes come out and the bubbly starts flowing – yes, it’s awards season. This year, RADAR and the Cultural Diversity Network diversity awards are among those recognising extraordinary disabled talent and we couldn’t be more thrilled. But does it signify a new era of success for disabled people in the media?

Through 2010, we have witnessed some fantastically talented disabled people chosen for roles that have gone a long way to establish, on a wider scale, how seriously we want to be taken, whether as actors, newsreaders, musicians, writers, or whatever else.

From an incredible turn from young newcomer Genevieve Barr in BBC1 drama The Silence, to Shannon Murray securing a modelling contract with Debenhams, to the groundbreaking Channel 4 drama Cast Offs, to Wesley Nelson bringing a young Ian Dury to life in a big-screen production of Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, to Channel 4’s incredible push for disabled presenters for the 2012 Paralympics, to Jamie Beddard acting on a West End stage. Shall we go on? Disabled people are on television, radio, in books, newspapers, on billboards and on stage and, mostly, for all the right reasons.

Actress Genevieve Barr, recently seen in BBC1 drama The Silence, said she’s delighted that the media industry is becoming more representative, but added: “Proportionally, given that roughly one in seven of the overall population of Great Britain is disabled, we have yet to achieve substantial representation of disability in the media.

“That’s not to say that programmes need to be disability-centred, just like a lot of people’s lives aren’t disability-centred, but we need more. People need to be more open-minded that someone or something with a disability can be as interesting and engaging as everything else we see on screen and print is.”

Of course there have been several big hiccups along the way: Davina McCall’s comment about walking “like a retard” on Big Brother, Paddy Power’s blind footballer advert, The Sun’s campaign against “benefit scroungers” and Fonejacker’s research as a fake disabled person for a comedy skit are just a few that this column has uncovered over the year.

In addition to that, there are still cases of non-disabled people cast in disabled roles: Kevin McHale portraying the role of Artie in American teen drama Glee, while here in the UK Colin Firth is headed for an Oscar win for convincingly mimicking a stammer in the forthcoming film The King’s Speech.

“I think we are getting to the point of all disabled parts being played by disabled people. However, it is still happening, particularly in American TV shows,” said actor David Proud, who until recently played EastEnders’ first wheelchair-using character Adam Best.

“The next step is to really make sure the amount of disabled people on screen increases, and the roles they play are high profile and in the mainstream,” he added.

Channel 4 news correspondent Benjamin Cohen said: “Disabled people are becoming
much more visible in the media and the arts and this helps encourage disabled people to apply at all levels of the industry, on and off screen, but many challenges still exist.

“Thinking about the industry as a whole, I’m sure there is still ingrained and often unvoiced discrimination of disabled people. Perhaps there is a fear that variable disabilities, like my own, can be difficult to manage from a personnel perspective. Unpredictability can add to the cost of employing a disabled person, and I know from my friends that this has prevented them from securing jobs in the media.”

Genevieve added: “Disability still needs to be more attractive and engaging to a mainstream audience. We need more writers, actors and people in the industry developing opportunities that explore issues and introduce characters that have disabilities.”

There has been a positive leap forward for disability in the media, but we know more still needs to happen. More disabled people need to be employed into non-disabled roles, more disabled people need to be given more visible jobs, and most importantly, more disabled people need to feel they have equal opportunity and right to get wherever they want to be, whether onscreen or off.