Disability organisation TripleC is receive the Bafta TV Craft special award for its efforts to improve access and raise awareness of disability issues.
The group runs the Disabled Artists Networking Community (DANC), a community of more than 1,000 disabled creatives, and forges relationships with key decision-makers and organisations in the arts. It also runs drama workshops for disabled people.
TripleC has recently worked with Channel 4’s disabled mentoring scheme Rise and steered ScreenSkills’ accessibility coordinator training, and co-founder Melissa Johns, an actor who has appeared in Coronation Street, Flack and I Hate Suzie, was awarded an MBE for services to drama and people with disabilities.
Bafta deputy chair and TV committee chair Sara Putt praised TripleC’s “creative approach” in going “above and beyond to improve access, opportunities and representation.”
In a joint statement, Johns and co-founder, Cherylee Houston, another former Corrie regular, said TripleC’s achievements in its first six years are “just the start of the journey”.
They added: “I don’t think we ever knew the size of impact that [the] organisation would have on the lives of so many deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent creatives. From work in schools with disabled children and young people to the leap in career development and employment of disabled artists throughout the industry.
“Our industry is changing for the better and we can’t wait to fully show the world the talent that’s in it. The recognition from Bafta will support our drive for change and help ensure accessibility and inclusivity is high up on every agenda.”
The Bafta TV Craft Awards take place this Sunday, 24 April.
