The first disabled actor to have a continuing role in British soap EastEnders will be the main speaker at a De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) symposium, looking into mental health and disability equality in the creative industries.
Actor, writer, director, and consultant David Proud, who was born with Spina Bifida, and uses a wheelchair, played Adam Best in EastEnders and has gone on to star in many more TV dramas and feature films.
He was named in the Shaw Trust/Channel Four Top 100 Power List as one of the most influential disabled people of 2015, 2018 and 2019.
David’s connections with prime TV have continued as a core writer for ITV’s top-rated soap, Coronation Street, while also working as a disability consultant for the British Film Institute (BFI).
He will deliver the keynote address at the symposium on Wednesday 19 July, and will be followed by speakers from Europe, Asia, and America.
The symposium is setting out to examine the current and future role of mental health and disability equality across the global creative sector, analysing the stresses and challenges faced within these jobs while addressing those managing circumstances which would help support disabled colleagues to reach their full potential.
Professor Jason Lee, Head of DMU’s Leicester Media School Partnerships and a British Academy Innovation Fellow with Jones Bamber Productions, specialises in the field of health, media, and film and has helped bring the symposium together to inform further research.
Last year, he was awarded a British Academy Innovation Fellowship worth £173,000, to explore why more people with disabilities and/or mental health conditions aren’t being considered, to help address a major skills gap in the industry.
He said: “It comes as no surprise that those with disabilities are the most discriminated against in the screen industry.
“It is recorded that 20 per cent of the British workforce is declared disabled, and yet there are only two per cent registered as working in the film and TV industry.
“This symposium is bringing together people from across three continents to look at this disparity and to produce explanations and solutions to bring equality to the creative industries. David has had such a lasting impact on the industry, it is wonderful to have him open our symposium.”
Topics being covered at the symposium include research into gender, pop music and mental ill health, looking at neurodivergence in the creative industries, Disability Pride in the Australian film industry and blind people’s encounters with film.
To find out more and book a place at the symposium visit here
Posted on Wednesday 12 July 2023