Sam talks about acting alongside legend ‘Dot Cotton’ actress

Last Christmas, actor Sam Barnard starred in a special radio drama called Missing You alongside June Brown MBE, who is best known for her role as ‘Dot Cotton’ in Eastenders. Sam performed alongside the 94-year-old acting legend in the drama about family separation due to the pandemic, where June plays his slightly over-protective mother and Sam plays a 40-something man forging his independence.

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We caught up with Sam about the project

• Can you introduce yourself please Sam.

Hi. My name is Sam Barnard. I am 36 years old. I live with my dad. My mum died 12 years ago. My brother and two nephews live very near to us in Kent. My sister and brother-in-law and my youngest nephew live in Hong Kong.

• Can you tell us about your acting career?

I have been a professional actor since 2006. A Casting Director recommended me to an agent Louise Dyson at Visable People, and I have been with her ever since. My first acting job was a small role in a film with John Hurt and Elijah Wood. Then I did some training for a year with Mind the Gap and Mountview on a training programme for actors with a learning disability called Acting for Change. And I have done some acting work ever since then. On the TV I have been in Casualty and Grantchester and Silent Witness and I played Robert in the TV Movie, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. I also did some small walk on parts in Eastenders and I was in an episode of The Inbetweeners. On the radio I played Jonny Fletcher in the BBC Radio drama series First World Problems. I have also worked in the theatre. I was the first actor with Down’s syndrome in England to star in a full professional pantomime season. I played the Giant’s Henchman in Jack and the Beanstalk. I also helped to devise and performed in Bottled Dreams of Better Days at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. I am still involved in developing a new play by Richard Vergette called Hunt the Tiger – I play the last person on earth with Down’s syndrome. I think it is a very important play and hope we can get it into production soon. I have also done a great new short film called Monico Perseus in the summer and it should be released early next year.

• What did you enjoy about starring in Missing You?

William was a really good character to play and I loved that it was the same story told differently by him and his mum, but they both really cared for each other and missed each other a lot. It was a lovely script and I really enjoyed performing it.

• Your character William moves out of home and in to supported living. Is this something you have done?

No I haven’t. I have talked about it with my dad sometimes and I know I can if I want to. But I like living at home with dad. We both have our own space and I think it works well. I hope he does too!

• William also begins a relationship. Is this something you have had experience in?

I had a girlfriend for about six months a few years ago. It was difficult because we lived a long way apart and we couldn’t see each other as much as we wanted. We are still friends.

• Missing You talks about William gaining his independence from his mum. How important do you think it is for people with learning disabilities to be encouraged to be independent?

I think it is good to be independent. Some people can be more independent than others, but it is good to try new things if you can. As well as my acting, I do a job in an office one day a week in Dover and I have a paid job one day a week with Bemix, as a Supporter for the Risky Business Drama Group in Sittingbourne. I love both jobs and after I had some support at first, I now go to both jobs by train on my own and that makes me more independent.

• What important messages do you think Missing You gives out?

I think he most important message is love, and also that people with Down’s syndrome can support their families and can be independent and also still help their parents.

• What was it like working with June Brown?

I am a big fan of June. I have seen her in Eastenders all my life. She first appeared on the Square on 19 March 1985 – before I was born! Because we recorded Missing You in lockdown I didn’t meet her and I am a bit sad about that. I recorded my part in Dover and June recorded hers at her house. But I’m proud to have worked with her even if we didn’t actually meet! I think Missing You is a really lovely drama. I hope you do too.

• Are you a big fan of Eastenders?

I’m a huge fan of Eastenders. It started on 19 February 1985 and I have watched every episode ever, even the ones before I was born, I have watched on the Drama Channel Classic Eastenders. So, it is good when I get the chance to be in it!

• You recorded Missing You during the height of the coronavirus pandemic and it talks about William and his mum Margie not being able to see each other. What was your own personal experience of lockdown and the pandemic?

It was ok for me. We stayed at home and kept safe and had our vaccinations as soon as we could. But I stayed in touch with my work and friends by Zoom meetings and I did some Zoom quizzes. I was lucky also to do some other acting jobs in lockdown. I did a short film called Stuart and Dumplings and raised some money for the DSA with it. And we did seven live performances of Bottled Dreams of Better Days by Zoom and people paid to buy tickets to watch it.

• What is next for you in your career? Is there a particular part you would like to play?

I will be recording a six-part audio horror drama later this year. It is called Hungry Moon and it stars me and a great cast including Mina Anwar, Louise Jameson, Jemma Moore and two Dr Who’s, Colin Baker and Peter Davison. You can keep up to date with it @5064Productions on Twitter. It should be out to listen to in February 2022. There are also some meetings about another possible TV roles that would be very exciting for me, but I don’t know whether it will actually happen yet. Fingers crossed! I like to be busy so any more acting roles will be great.

• Who is your favourite actor and why?

That’s very difficult I’ve got too many. I loved working with Chelsea Halfpenny in Casualty and she was great in 9to5 the Musical.

• What would you say to someone who has Down’s syndrome who wants to get on the television and radio?

Just be yourself. To be an actor try to get some training and join a drama group. Being an actor is hard work and you have to be very professional and learn your lines very well and get up very early. And if you don’t get a job you go to audition for don’t worry. Just move on to the next one.

• Is there anything else you would like to tell us?

I want to just mention Separate Doors Writing for Tomorrow’s Theatre Project. Separate Doors is there to increase the representation of people with learning disabilities in theatre, film and TV. I am a member of the Separate Doors Advisory Board and it is a good project. I have been doing some work helping to choose actors and writers for it. You can find out more about our work and also performances in Chichester and Derby in November and January by going to the website. Thank you!!!!

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We also caught up with Richard Vergette who is the writer of Missing You

• Can you tell us about yourself please?

I’m a retired drama teacher and playwright from North Lincolnshire. I’m married to a teacher and we have three children – now all adults. Our middle son, Thomas, was born in June 1998 with Down’s syndrome. We had no idea that Thomas had Down’s syndrome before he was born so, obviously, it was quite a shock. Thomas went to mainstream primary school until year four when he was on a split placement and then in year six, he went full time to a special primary school. Although as teachers as well as his parents we would have liked Thomas to have remained in mainstream education, it became clear that he was alienated from the curriculum and not mixing effectively with his peers. At 11, he moved to the secondary special school. We had – as many families do – huge difficulty finding him adequate provision once he had turned 16. Eventually Thomas went to Wilsic school near Doncaster run by the Hesley Group. He now resides a few miles away from the family home in Thorne – at Hesley Life Care Services. We’ve just had his annual review and he’s doing really well. His impact on all of us is very positive. His elder brother now works in the care sector and – as a playwright – I feel inspired to write about my experiences. I think all of us feel indebted to Thomas for the impact he’s made on the family. https://twitter.com/R_Vergette/status/1398343557786877953

• Can you tell us about writing Missing You.

It may sound arrogant (I hope it doesn’t!) but Missing You was an easy play to write. I’d heard so many stories and had thought so much about our own experience. William is very different from Thomas. Thomas also has Autism and a degree of psychosis, so needs to live somewhere where there is a clinical team. William is also a lot older than Thomas and I’m aware that the opportunities afforded to people with Down’s syndrome now are better than years ago – even though they could stand some improvement!

• Were there any particular messages you want to come out of Missing You?

Yes, I suppose there were. Margie is William’s chief protector and would do anything for him. The problem comes when he doesn’t need or want protecting anymore. What he wants is his independence. It’s a tough one for any parent, but sometimes the best and most generous thing you can do as a parent is to let go. This might feel counterintuitive, but it doesn’t mean it isn’t right. William loves his mum but he wants to be an independent man in his own right. Margie’s attitude, though, is fashioned by her experience of prejudice when William is born. The attitude of the Matron is based on a true story.

• How reflective of your own personal experiences was Missing You?

Thomas no longer lives with us but we see him very regularly and we still all go on holiday together. We had to come to terms with the idea that it would be better for Thomas, as well as us, for him to live away. Now, he shares a house with young people and enjoys a level of independence and friendship with others that wouldn’t have been the case if he’d stayed at home. Of course we miss him but we see him often. Now, he plays football, goes to the gym, has a part-time job, goes swimming, goes on trips and mixes with people his own age. He has a good life now and is very happy. Ours is a different story from Missing You because Margie thinks she’s doing her duty as a mother by keeping William at home. We knew that the best thing for Thomas was to let him leave home.

• What do you think of the current representation of people who have learning disabilities on screen and radio and do you think things are changing?

Yes they are changing but perhaps a little too slowly! For me, the great thing about Missing You – and the single feature of which I’m most proud – is that Willliam drives the narrative. He’s not a token character in the background. Far too often, the disabled character has things done to them or said to them but they don’t move the story on. William very definitely does.

• How did you choose who you cast as the two main characters?

With William it was quite easy. I’d worked with Sam just a few months before and I knew he’d be right for this role. With Margie it was less easy. I said to our producer (Ashley Byrne) “I’d really like a June Brown type of actress”. He said “How about June Brown?” I honestly thought she’d retired. Apparently not! I was over the moon that she accepted but I had confidence in the script. It’s a good role and fortunately June agreed!

• What’s next for you and your career?

I’m trying to get a new play, Hunt the Tiger, off the ground. Sam has been working with me on some research and development work. The premise is a fairly pessimistic one: it depicts the life of the last human with Down’s syndrome. It’s set in the future and is a reflection of the falling off in population of people with Down’s syndrome in the light of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing. With the advance of gene editing and the potential for ‘designer babies’ this trend is set to continue. I feel that this play is probably the most important piece of work I’ll ever do. It remains to be seen whether the theatre establishment agrees! You can listen to ‘Missing You here

Thank you both for your time Sam and Richard