Deaf Actress Sophie Stone Was In Doctor Who: Under The Lake Last Weekend

I have never seen Doctor Who in my life. However, I know how popular he and his programme are worldwide.

A couple of days ago I noticed a lot of discussion on Facebook about the fact that the Doctor doesn’t know Sign Language. This is apparently important because the Doctor understands all languages.

It was mentioned that the episode featured a Deaf character. So I looked this up and discovered that the Deaf character, Cass, was played by Deaf actress Sophie Stone.

Here is her short biography from the Radio Times:

Sophie Stone’s journey to Doctor Who was a rather public one because the actress gained widespread acclaim for becoming the first deaf person to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. And her stint at RADA served her well because she’s popped up in all sorts of things since.

As well as maintaining a stellar career on stage with the likes of the National Theatre, Sophie has also appeared in Casualty, Holby City and Mapp & Lucia. And to keep the Doctor Who connection alive, she’s also worked opposite Alex Kingston in ITV’s supernatural miniseries Marchlands.

Having  covered a play, Woman Of Flowers, in which  Sophie Stone played the lead last year, I am very pleased to see her getting a part in the mainstream institution that is Doctor Who.

I also thank Doctor Who for giving the role of a disabled character to a disabled person. This is something that, I strongly feel, should happen more often.

Science fiction is still not my usual cup of tea, so this won’t make me a fan of Doctor Who.

However I would be very interested to know if Cass is going to become a regular character. If so I hope the Doctor will learn Sign Language!