I Hate EastEnders, But…

It’s no secret to my family that I wouldn’t watch BBC soap EastEnders if you paid me a million pounds. After all, all the characters ever seem to do is disagree, (in very loud voices in smoke-filled pubs), divorce and die. And not a single one of them knows how to speak a grammatically correct sentence of English- a real turn-off for someone with a love for the English language as strong as mine!

So I never imagined myself wanting to blog about EastEnders. But it’s true what they say-there’s a first time for everything. You see, EastEnders has finally done something right. As part of the BBC’s continuing efforts to raise the profiles  of DisAbled actors and performers, for which I must, once again, sincerely thank them, EastEnders, for the first time, is to feature a wheelchair-using character.

It gets better- the part of Adam Best will be played by DisAbled actor David Proud, who was born with spina bifida. His previous TV roles include ITV2’s Secret Diary of a Call Girl and CBBC’s Desperados.

The EastEnders executive producer, Diederick Santer, said: “I’m delighted to welcome David to EastEnders. He’s a fine young actor with a wonderfully dry comic delivery, playing an interesting – and possibly rather irritating – character. I’m sure he, and his character Adam, will be strong additions to EastEnders.

“In recent years, we’ve had a number of regular and guest characters with disabilities – some of them children, like Janet Mitchell and more recently Syd’s son Noah. We’ve also told the story of Jean Slater, who suffers from bipolar disorder. But this is the first time we’ve had a regular adult character with a visible disability played by an actor with a disability. It’s about time.”

For those who care, Best, who is described as “self-possessed and a bit of snob”, is an Oxford University student who arrives in Walford to visit his mother, Manda, and who falls for Libby Fox, the girlfriend of Darren Miller. He will join the BBC1 soap later this year.

I hope David Proud and his character bring pleasure, pride and inspiration to DisAbled fans of the soap. I, however, will never be one of them.