THE SPECIAL AWARD: TRIPLEC

THE RECIPIENT OF A BAFTA SPECIAL AWARD IS TRIPLEC, A GATEWAY ORGANISATION FOR DEAF, DISABLED OR NEURODIVERSE PEOPLE TO ACCESS THE ARTS AND MEDIA.

TripleC is the embodiment of leading by example. Founded five years ago by actors Cherylee Houston and Melissa Johns, TripleC is a collective of disabled and non-disabled creatives, focused on changing access to the arts for disabled people. Together, they are working towards better representation of deaf, disabled or neurodivergent talent on our screens and in our theatres.

The trailblazing pair, who are both disabled, met while filming Coronation Street. What started out as a germ of an idea has grown into an essential component in the industry’s drive for inclusion. It’s no exaggeration to say that anytime you’ve seen disabled talent onscreen or in the credits these past few years, TripleC was either directly involved or a member of its 1,300-plus Disabled Artists Networking Community (DANC) was part of the conversation.

TripleC and DANC hold various events for its members

TripleC

IT WOULD BE INCREDIBLE IF THERE WAS NO LONGER ANY BATTLE.

“We’re the same as the people we’re elevating,” says Houston. “We started from a seed of frustration, which five years later has become this massive, industry-wide entity.”

"We put a lot of work into talent development while ensuring the industry has everything in place, so that one side isn’t ready before the other,” adds Johns.

TripleC is working with an ever-growing list of organisations, including the BBC, ITV, Sky, Netflix, the BFI and BAFTA. The dream is to make TripleC simply a place for creative expression rather than industry advocacy. “It would be incredible if there was no longer any battle, that TripleC exists purely for celebration,” Johns says.

“Ultimately, we want the same indignation from the public when we’re not represented as when Awards haven’t been diverse enough,” says comedian, writer and former TripleC chair, Laurence Clark. "We want to get to the point where disabled characters are played and written by disabled actors and writers."

“Let the driving force be that we’re good,” adds Johns.

“Exactly!”agrees Houston.

Read the full feature: bafta.org/television/features/tv-craft-special-2022

Words: Rich Matthews | Images courtesy of TripleC