I love Triple C they started out just five years ago as an idea between Cherrylee Houston
and her friends including Melissa Johns about how it would be good to have the
opportunity as a disabled collective to meet and discuss things and provoke some access
and provoke change now they are a vast vast group who have made a revolution happen
how did they do it by being incessant Triple C don't stop moving they know the need to make
things happen and they won't stop until they do it the change they've made is momentous be it on the
sets of Sex Education, The Crown, Silent Witness, The A Word, Ralph and Katie and Coronation Street
be in their incredible talent forums where they've encouraged disabled people to think of this
industry as their industry be in their setting up of a talent database which isn't live yet
but when it is that ability to turn to people crewing and casting a show to say have you looked
at the Triple C database yet will be mind-blowing be it behind the scenes in their constant vigilant
work they've done pushing change this work is exceptional because they are exceptional
and they do it all in an inclusive way it is very hard to stage a revolution and
take everyone with you Triple C do that and they mean it they practice what they preach
we were working together on on something incredibly tricky and Cherrylee and I were
talking at nine o'clock on a Sunday night and I was blundering about and saying but this needs
to happen quickly and she wasn't very well and was still giving me time when she would have
much preferred to have been watching Taggart and she said you don't understand I am not me here
I am a thousand people and all of them need to be heard and if we do this wrong if we
do this without them all of this will be meaningless the constant phrase they have
is let's take it to a focus group let's examine it let's make sure everyone is comfortable and
happy let's make sure we drained every idea let's make sure that everyone has been heard
because Triple C have a central tenet never leave anybody behind disabled people have been left
behind and excluded all their lives what Triple C do is they don't just demand a few people are
heard they demand an entire collective is because of who they are because of how the
leadership of Cherrylee, Melissa, Lawrence, Katy, Monique, Ged and Lydia have functioned
because of how Sammy, Becky, Natalie, Steph, Charlie and many others have taken their baton
on they have made sure that all come with them and that is such a beautiful thing and
that is something that I personally and I know many others have learned so many lessons from
Triple C are incredible and the revolution they've led is only just getting started and
they have made it happen with little or no support I hope what this special BAFTA means is that the
industry are declaring that they will be treasured from now on because they deserve to be treasured
here are some clips from some extraordinary people talking about Triple C's extraordinary work
hello everyone my name is Cherrylee Houston and I am a disabled actor my name is Melissa Johns I am
also a disabled actor I am co-creative lead at Triple C with Cherrylee, Triple C or the
creative confidence collective is an incredible organisation formed in Manchester a few years ago
to give disabled people a very much needed voice within the creative industries Triple
C focus on bringing deaf and disabled creative people into the arts and the media
I think what Triple C do rather than asking disabled people to integrate into a system
or an industry that isn't necessarily built to meet our access needs is to actually stop
and ask the industry how they can adapt and what steps we can take together to make sure that we're
included they are the go-to gateway organization I'd say for anybody out there who is looking to
get disabled talent both in front or behind the camera involved in their project chez and I have
both worked in the industry for a while we've come up with many creative solutions and worked
with many different production companies and now we are working with quite a few broadcasters
we just wanted to create a space that felt so rich in talent I've been going to Triple C meetings for
several years now I will always remember the feeling of when I wheeled myself into a room
and there was so much talent in that one room I was just in awe I was like wow this is just
something different something else something amazingly positive what Triple C have been
is a real force for change they run DANC the disabled artists networking community through
which they run master classes and webinars with industry professionals just having the
opportunities to do the training courses to get mentoring schemes to meet with industry experts
they've been a great asset for me over the years and it's just been great to have
them there even just a sounding board it just opens those doors but also it means that disabled
creatives get to meet each other and we can support each other and work together it's a
community it's a place where you can feel less alone in the industry where people just get it
they have brought people in from all over the industry to their meetups that they hold
around the country and to have real open honest vulnerable conversations and to give people like
myself and other people living with all kinds of different disabilities a feeling that they still
belong making you realize that your disability is a USP it's a reason to employ you not a reason not
to it's just incredible what happens at Triple C the workshops they do the support they give us the
opportunities they send our way Riz thank you so so much thank you Matt for joining us this
is so exciting Wayne Garvey, Deborah Williams from the creative diversity network thank you
so much Jack for doing this special guest writer Jonathan Harvey gunning for you all lots of love
Triple C have made a massive difference to my career around four years ago I went to a workshop
and that led to me being given a place on the BBC writing room writer access group and that led to
writing for Casualty and working with Eastenders as well as an actor they've been incredible I've
met casting directors and producers who have gone on to cast me in work in theatre and TV
I've got a visual impairment so I've got an invisible disability
I used to hide it from the world I'm an actor I hid it at a drama school I hid it from the
industry when I left drama school so DANC has really helped me embrace my disability
I would like to congratulate each and every one of you guys for your tireless tireless work
nobody deserves this award more than you guys do I'd like to congratulate the team from Triple C
for this award which is massive for all their hard work all their motivation their dedication
their friendliness their support just everything that they've done there are so many people out
there whose lives they've changed massively I was there at the very start start in the big
meet in big meeting at the Royal Exchange and go what the hell is going on and thinking this is
so amazing i hope it works and it worked and I just can't thank them enough all
their support I'm so happy for you this is so well deserved from the beginning you've worked
absolutely tirelessly you've been so dedicated into making real positive
change in the industry and it's happening and it's because of you what you do is
incredible you are unsung heroes until tonight so congratulations Triple C and DANC of course
you are phenomenal and I'm very proud that you're winning this award massive congrats keep up the
incredible work um and between us we will make sure as you guys say that nobody is left behind
please welcome to the stage the mighty mighty Triple C
actually I'm afraid I'm a bit too poorly to make it in person this evening so I'm wearing
my ball gown in my bed we are delighted to have been awarded this BAFTA special award
having our work as a disabled led company
recognized and celebrated by an organization like BAFTA shows the leaps the industry are
taking but the story starts way before this prior to forming Triple C Cherrylee was
creating opportunities for other disabled creators as her acting career developed
she realized she was able to use her profile and active advocacy to make positive change
Cherrylee brought together a group of like-minded friends there's Ged Mulherin and Lydia Mulherin
who are on zoom uh Monique Jarrett and myself Melissa Johns together we created an organization
that uses lived experience to challenge the industry's thinking on disability in a warm
and friendly way never did we imagine that our organization would grow so quickly and lead to the
huge changes it has had on the lives of so many deaf disabled and all neurodivergent creatives
the way that the industry has responded so quickly to us shows already how much of the appetite there
was for change we built DANC the disabled artists networking community a network of over 1300 deaf
disabled and neurodivergent creatives for far too long the industry were unsure of how to include us
and scared of getting it wrong but now DANC is working with them to get over this fear and remove
the barriers that have excluded us whilst connecting talent with opportunity
now is the time to fuel the fire more than ever before we must continue to elevate the
voices of disabled creatives develop careers and show the world the amazing talent that exists
we as a community have a wealth of exciting untold stories to bring to the screen we need
to see more deaf disabled and or neurodivergent people in front of and behind the camera
this is where it gets really exciting this room is filled with some of the most
influential creative people in our industry this room alone could make a change like no other
what would next year's BAFTAs look like if every single person
in this room tonight made a pledge a pledge to put us on the agenda to put us on every
single agenda and for the first time in our industries history put disability center stage
let's enable our next generation to see so much of what we never saw when we were growing up
let's see disabled creatives winning awards for their exceptional talent for years to come
and the solution to all this is dead simple all you need to do is listen to us
connect with us employ us thank you