In this week’s episode of Casualty (Saturday 11th July) nurse Jade Lovall (played by Gabriella Leon) meets her birth mother and finally uncovers the truth behind her past. Co-writers Charlie Swinbourne and Sophie Woolley were both part of our first Writers’ Access Group. We spoke to them to find out more about how being part of the group led to the opportunity to write the episode, and how it was created to authentically tell the story of the show’s first regular deaf character.
What was the journey to the point of being given the chance to write this episode of Casualty?
Charlie: I’d spent over a decade creating dramas, comedies and documentaries with deaf actors and contributors, in sign language, having a lot of different experiences of telling different types of stories, always with deaf people at their heart.
Becoming part of the BBC Writersroom’s Writers’ Access Group gave me the chance to meet mainstream producers for the first time, share my work with them and take steps into making programmes for a wider audience.
Credits: ‘Writers Room’ – Charlie Swinbourne & Sophie Woolley
Photo credit: Jade (GABRIELLA LEON)(Image Credit: BBC / Alistair Heap)
