BBC video - My Autism and Me

The actress with Down's syndrome who has earned a milestone role in BBC's Upstairs Downstairs drama

'Fearless': Sarah Gordy who has nabbed the lead role in BBC's Upstairs Downstairs would also love to appear in Doctor Who
Her character’s reunion with her beloved brother, Sir Hallam, formed the heart-rending finale to the first series of Upstairs Downstairs and provided a stark reminder of the way things were done ‘back then’.

Hidden away in a mental asylum because her Down’s syndrome would bring shame on the family, Lady Pamela Holland lived a solitary half-life with only her cherished photographs for company.

Tonight, viewers will see her returned to her rightful home, 165 Eaton Place, as the revival of the BBC drama returns to our screens for a second series.

Much is riding on the show – there have been inevitable comparisons with Downton Abbey – and it’s hoped that Upstairs Downstairs, like its ITV counterpart, will be commissioned for a third series. And no one is hoping that happens more than Sarah Gordy, who plays Lady Pamela. As any actress would be, she is delighted to have a major role on prime-time television, but it also means so much more.

For Sarah, who, like her character, has Down’s syndrome, this marks a milestone in an already extraordinary career.


Read more of Elizabeth Sanderson's MailOnline article HERE.

TV 'needs more disabled actors'

The BBC has been challenged to cast more disabled actors in primetime drama, to reflect better the make up of the audience.

At a meeting at Television Centre on Wednesday evening, organised by staff group BBC Ability, programme makers were urged to be 'less scared of difference' and to broaden their search for acting talent.

'Around ten million people in the UK have some kind of disability but that's not mirrored in the drama they see,' said Martyn Sibley, social media entrepreneur and co-editor of online magazine Disability Horizons, who himself has spinal muscular atrophy.

There was a call for more disabled actors to appear in high profile shows like Waking the Dead Shannon Murray, who works full time in the BBC's legal department and is also a model and a trained actor, thought that soaps, one-off dramas and continuing series should include, as a matter of course, more main characters who just happened to be disabled.

Read more of the BBC article HERE.

"Off Road" Wheelchair

Tim Morgan and John Wardle of the University of Bath show their "Mountain Trike." See BBC coverage HERE.