Acting disabled.

To begin, presenter Nikki Fox talks to Actor Julie Fernandez about her experiences acting as a person with disabilities. Talent Agent at Visible Louise Dyson talks to Fox about the changing possibilities for disabled actors. Actors Liz Carr, Lisa Hammond and Matt Fraser recount their experiences being disabled in the entertainment industry. Screen Critic Nick Duncalf discusses representations of disabled people in media from his childhood, in particular the well-known Heidi novels (1881) and the TV programme Ironside (1967). Hammond outlines the ways disabled people have been typically stereotyped in the media. Former Channel 4 disability executive Alison Walsh talks about the current statistics surrounding disabled talent in the media today. Chair of The Casting Directors Guild of the UK and Ireland Andy Prior discusses the issues surrounding diversity representation within casting. Hammond and Fraser discuss this further, leaning on their personal experiences. Fernandez discusses her role in BBC comedy series The Office (2001), and a clip of a poignant scene for her character is played. Carr discusses her role in BBC crime drama Silent Witness (1996). Dyson discusses the impact The Creative Diversity Network has had on the casting of disabled people. Hammond discusses her role in British soap opera Eastenders. Duncalf criticises the Hollywood Bond franchise for misrepresenting disabled people. He also debates the discrepancies found within award ceremonies, in which many more able bodied actors receive awards for their portrayals of disabled characters than disabled actors. The panel discuss this further, exploring the impact of emerging phrases such as disability drag, crip face, and cripping up in the entertainment industry. They further debate whether, by todays standards, cripping up could be interpreted as synonymous with blacking up. Fox and the panel discuss the casting of able-bodied Actor Kevin McHale as the disabled character Arthur "Artie" Abrams in the TV-Musical Glee. Dyson and Prior compare the fast-moving development of childrens television to adult television, in terms of their representation of disabled people. The panel then discuss whether introducing targets or quotas would fairly help to introduce more disabled actors onto our screens.