The one-off BBC drama tells the real life story of Barbara Lisicki and Alan Holdsworth, who became pivotal in the campaign for disability rights.<\/p>\n
The drama\u2019s writers Jack Thorne and Genevieve Barr have spoken exclusively to RadioTimes.com<\/a> about what they would like to see happen as a result of the film\u2019s powerful message around equal rights.<\/p>\n Barr said: \u201cI hope the spirit of protest lives on. Barbara and Alan showed change happens when people act as a collective. We should be living in a country that is accessible by now. It\u2019s not. People are still being treated badly and that\u2019s down to ignorance and a lack of care.<\/p>\n \u201cWheelchair users are prevented from getting on buses because their spaces are filled with prams. And COVID? A disproportionate number of disabled people died during the pandemic, and their deaths were hidden under the separate arm \u2018Underlying Health Conditions\u2019. Those were disabled people and the government effectively said we did not count.<\/p>\n \u201c25 years on, it would be nice to say that we are drastically better off. But the film hopefully goes some way to showing that more change needs to happen and that it starts with people\u2019s hearts and minds. Television is a mirror, a provocateur. Sometimes it\u2019s about prompting humility and humanity and disabled people need a lot more than they\u2019re getting right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked what needs to happen to ensure more disabled talent is seen on-screen, Barr said: \u201cWhile we were writing this, we also set up Underlying Health Condition \u2013 a pressure group to challenge the lack of disabled people in the television industry. There is a sea of good intentions but as the CDN\u2019s (Creative Diversity Network) latest report shows, it\u2019s not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n The CDN report, released in June 2021, revealed that<\/a> the TV industry could take seven more years to hit its off-screen disability targets.<\/p>\n Barr continued: \u201cAt our launch last year, we released a report that included a survey of accessibility in studios and facilities companies. The results were startling. Until we tackle the geography of where disabled people are supposed to work \u2013 production spaces \u2013 we can\u2019t achieve representation. There\u2019s a lack of toilets, ramps, funding for interpreters, etc.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo weeks ago we announced that Screenskills<\/a> will be rolling out the first course for Accessibility Coordinators, and later this year the first cohort will be going into productions \u2013 as professionals \u2013 making sure locations are accessible, helping recruit and support disabled cast and crew, and starting to tackle change.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s exciting. So much is being made in the UK at the moment, there\u2019s a great opportunity to make the industry a better place to work in at the same time.\u201d<\/p> Meanwhile, Thorne said: \u201cThe really shocking thing about the CDN figures was that the major decline was at executive level. There are less disabled execs and commissioners than there were, and when there were more the numbers were truly pitiful. That absence of people making choices is really telling.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, as Gen says, for the first time it feels like we have the ears of people at the upper levels and these notions of access are truly being discussed. It feels like a small revolution is happening at all levels, and the Accessibility Coordinators, which we are so excited about, are the start of profound change.\u201d<\/p>\n Then Barbara Met Alan<\/a> is available on demand on BBC iPlayer. Check out our\u00a0Drama<\/a>\u00a0hub for more news, interviews and features or find something to watch with\u00a0<\/span>our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, l<\/strong>isten to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a>\u00a0with Jane Garvey.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/body><\/html>\n By James Hibbs Published: Thursday, 24 March 2022 at 12:00 am Then Barbara Met Alan aired earlier this week and has been getting rave reviews, with RadioTimes.com calling it\u00a0 \u201cvital\u201d. The one-off BBC drama tells the real life story of Barbara Lisicki and Alan Holdsworth, who became pivotal in the campaign for disability rights. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":12783,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/then-barbara-met-alan-writers-on-start-of-profound-change-in-tv.jpg",2000,1334,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/then-barbara-met-alan-writers-on-start-of-profound-change-in-tv-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/then-barbara-met-alan-writers-on-start-of-profound-change-in-tv-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/then-barbara-met-alan-writers-on-start-of-profound-change-in-tv-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/then-barbara-met-alan-writers-on-start-of-profound-change-in-tv-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/then-barbara-met-alan-writers-on-start-of-profound-change-in-tv-1536x1025.jpg",1536,1025,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/then-barbara-met-alan-writers-on-start-of-profound-change-in-tv.jpg",2000,1334,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By James Hibbs Published: Thursday, 24 March 2022 at 12:00 am Then Barbara Met Alan aired earlier this week and has been getting rave reviews, with RadioTimes.com calling it\u00a0 \u201cvital\u201d. The one-off BBC drama tells the real life story of Barbara Lisicki and Alan Holdsworth, who became pivotal in the campaign for disability rights. 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