{"id":55281,"date":"2024-08-27T16:17:33","date_gmt":"2024-08-27T15:17:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/?page_id=55281"},"modified":"2026-04-09T17:11:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T16:11:04","slug":"charity-applauds-strictly-for-signing-first-ever-blind-contestant-as-new-research-shows-disabled-people-feel-underrepresented-in-the-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/press-releases\/entertainment\/charity-applauds-strictly-for-signing-first-ever-blind-contestant-as-new-research-shows-disabled-people-feel-underrepresented-in-the-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Charity applauds Strictly for signing first ever blind contestant, as new research shows disabled people feel underrepresented in the media"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Announcement comedian Chris McCausland will participate in the BBC\u2019s Strictly Come Dancing<\/em> comes as research from disability charity Sense reveals that almost half of disabled people want to see more people like them on TV<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 August 2024<\/strong> \u2013 The national disability charity Sense has welcomed news of the BBC\u2019s first ever blind Strictly Come Dancing<\/em> contestant as a \u201cpivotal moment\u201d for disability representation \u2013 charity Sense reveals* almost half of disabled people (44 per cent) want to see more people like them on their screens.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are more than 16.1 million disabled people in the UK, making up 24% of the population, and according to the national disability charity Sense many believe their lives and experiences aren\u2019t adequately portrayed in the media. In new research, released today, two in five (39 per cent) disabled people say they never or rarely see or hear the experiences of disabled people like them in the media, with almost half (44 per cent) stating they want to see more disabled people on their screens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sense, which supports people with complex disabilities** like deafblindness, hopes the BBC\u2019s signing of blind comedian and actor, Chris McCausland, to its primetime TV show Strictly Come Dancing<\/em> will mark a step forward for disability representation in the media. McCausland, 46, lost his sight in his 20s due to a hereditary condition called retinitis pigmentosa, and has talked openly about the impact this has on his life, including in his comedy series Wonders of the World I Can\u2019t See<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strictly Come Dancing<\/em> has, in recent years, taken a step towards more disability inclusion, notably with contestants such as 19th<\/sup> series winner Rose Ayling-Ellis, who is deaf, and Paralympians like Ellie Simmonds and Jody Cundy. However a report from the Creative Diversity Network<\/a> finds that, at the current rate of progress, it will take until 2041 for disabled people to be properly represented on our screens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Sense\u2019s research showing 42 per cent of disabled people think disability representation in the media is vital to ensure everyone has the chance to participate equally in society, the charity hopes more TV channels and production companies will take meaningful steps to include and represent disabled people in their shows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steven Morris, Campaigns Officer at Sense, who is himself deafblind, said:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSense\u2019s new research shows disabled people are craving more disability representation on their screens, and I don\u2019t blame them. When I was a child, I remember feeling excluded by the TV shows I watched and books I read because there were so few disabled characters in them, which also meant that my non-disabled friends didn\u2019t have any portrayals to help them to understand me. I\u2019ll never forget when, during my university freshers\u2019 week, someone said to me: \u2018I\u2019ve never met a disabled person before, I\u2019ve no idea how to relate to you.\u2019 Perhaps if that person had seen us accurately portrayed on TV, films or in books, they may not have been so frightened of the unknown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThings have improved since I was a child, but gradually. Now to learn that the BBC is signing its first blind contestant to one of its biggest TV shows really is a pivotal moment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notes to editor:<\/strong>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

*The research was conducted by Censuswide, on behalf of Sense, who surveyed 1,001 people with complex disabilities across the UK between 11.06.2024 to 13.06.2022. Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

**People with complex disabilities tend to have multiple disabilities that make it harder for them to learn new skills, communicate or live independently. There are 1.6million people with complex disabilities living in the UK. Sense conducts annual research into their experiences: www.sense.org.uk\/information-and-advice\/for-professionals\/policy-public-affairs-and-research\/potential-and-possibility-research\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

5 August 2024 \u2013 Sense welcomes news as \u201ca pivotal moment\u201d for disability representation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":352,"featured_media":55283,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1401],"tags":[],"display_author":[],"class_list":["post-55281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55281"},{"taxonomy":"display_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display_author?post=55281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}