by Kate Potter, Communications Manager, DSA
Last Thursday I was very honoured to attend a screening event for Ralph & Katie, the new comedy drama starring our Patron Sarah Gordy and Leon Harrop.
This brand new six-part comedy drama for BBC One and iPlayer will be on our screens from next Wednesday (5 October 2022) at 9pm.
A spin-off from from The A Word, the series follows Ralph and Katie, newlyweds, as they settle into married life together in their new home.
At the screening, we saw the first episode and it was funny, warm and touching.
Sarah and Leon both gave amazing performances in the episode I saw. It was great to meet new characters as well seeing familiar faces.
Groundbreaking TV
As well as being an entertaining watch, the Ralph & Katie is truly groundbreaking TV.
Both leads have Down’s syndrome; the scripts were written by The A Word’s Peter Bowker alongside new and emerging disabled writers; the production employed five disabled trainees and made reasonable adjustments throughout to make the production a truly accessible workplace.
This was discussed in the Q&A sessions after the screening. Simple changes had a big, positive impact for the whole crew.
“It’s my dream show, I never wanted to do a ‘disabled show’ this is about us as people, not our disabilities”@theaworduk spin off #RalphAndKatie director Jordan Hogg talking about creating the show in last weeks screening – with their fabulous leads #LeonHarrop and @sarah_gordy pic.twitter.com/6KnYauG3wT
— Access All Areas (@AAATheatre) September 27, 2022
Look out for Our Voice member, advocate, campaigner and all-round superstar Claire-May in the credits!
Claire-May was employed on the production as an EPK Trainee. She said:
It was my very first Television Credit of which I am very proud of. All of the production crew were diverse including me. It was so interesting to see a full television studio at work. I was able to go on location with them too. I found everyone so welcoming and kind. I loved every moment of it. It was THE best job of my life.
We’re going to hear more from Claire-May in the coming weeks about her experience, but it looks like she made quite an impression:
Our wonderful EPK Trainee Claire gave us our first award and it means as much as any BAFTA, OSCAR or GRAMMY would do! Claire said that it was for being the first job she’s had where she hasn’t felt discriminated against! We have loved having you with us Claire! pic.twitter.com/xXfeewshUj
— Ralph & Katie (@theaworduk) April 4, 2022
Fans of the show may find these visual stories helpful…
Visual stories for @BBCiPlayer @BBCOne @theaworduk by the fab @jessmabeljones who came to us via @AAATheatre Available via link in profile #actuallyautistic #Autism #DownSyndrome #downs #Dyslexia pic.twitter.com/ME6k2qRhke
— jules hussey 🏍 (@brazenprods) September 24, 2022
