The Norm In The TV Industry
Disabled presenters must become the norm in the TV industry
When a disabled presenter appeared on children s television, prejudice parents
revolted and claimed she was scaring toddlers.
Cerrie Burnell, 37, who was born with a right arm that ends just below the elbow,
sparked controversy after taking over, with Alex Winters, the popular Do and
Discover slot and The Bedtime Hour on CBeebies.
The BBC Trust received a swarm of complaints from aggravated parents, who claimed
that Miss Burnell s appearance was upsetting and scaring their children, following her
debut on the channel.
Angered parents claimed the disabled woman was an unsuitable co host, with one
father threatening to ban his 2 year old from watching the show due to fears that she
... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Words: 975
Pull out panel
GenrePeople with disability (%)
Outside Broadcast7.6
News7.2
Highend Drama6.2
Drama5.5
Children s5.0
Comedy4.1
Entertainment4.0
Daytime3.9
Factual3.5
Statistics from the 2016 Creative Diversity Network workforce survey on the
proportion of disabled people by television genre.
END.
Words: 43
Contact details for interviewees:
BBC North West Tonight presenter, Roger Johnson:
[email protected]
National Union of Journalists spokesperson, Paul Holleran:
[email protected]
Broadcast Assistant for BBC Sports News, Dan Goulding:
[email protected]
Communication and Live Streaming Intern at DaDaFest, Steph Niciu: 07756831015
or
[email protected]
Contact details for people who did not respond to interview:
BBC Academy:
[email protected]
BBC Academy:
[email protected]
BBC Academy:
[email protected]