ACCESS ALL AREAS
ARTHUR HUGHES AND RUTH MADELEY star in a real-life love story about two disability campaigners
Then Barbara Met Alan Monday, 9pm, BBC2
Years and Years star Ruth Madeley leads the cast of BBC2’S powerful new fact-based drama
Then Barbara Met Alan, which explores a little-known chapter of recent British history.
The one-off show opens in 1989 when comic Barbara Lisicki (Madeley) meets musician Alan Holdsworth (Arthur Hughes) at a cabaret night.
Barbara, who was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at a young age, and
Alan, who contracted polio at the age of one, quickly discover they share a wicked sense of humour and a desire to be treated as equals. Fed up with unworkable public transport, inaccessible public places and daily discrimination, they join forces to found the Direct Action Network (DAN).
‘They’re such a charismatic couple – creative, fun and a bit wild,’ reveals Madeley. ‘Campaigning aside, they also share a real love story.’
During the early 1990s, DAN organised non-violent protests throughout the UK, and the group’s tireless dedication ultimately led to the passing of the historic 1995 Disability Discrimination Act.
PEOPLE POWER
‘I met with the real-life Barbara for the role, and she couldn’t have been lovelier,’ says Madeley. ‘To sit down and have a drink with her, disabled woman to disabled woman, was a real honour. She was fighting for a law that would affect my entire life.’
Written by National Treasure and Help’s Jack Thorne and deaf writer and actor Genevieve Barr, the film follows Barbara and Alan as they carry out their mass protests – chaining themselves to public transport and blocking streets with their wheelchairs.
The drama features more than 30 cast and crew and 55 extras who have disabilities, including some original members of DAN.
‘Often on sets you’re the only disabled person there,’ says Madeley, 35, who was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. ‘To be surrounded by so many people with an array of disabilities was something else. For too long disabled creatives have been left behind.’
There are cameos from the real-life Barbara and Alan, while
Silent Witness star Liz Carr, who joined DAN in her 20s, plays a younger version of herself.
‘It was surreal to play myself 25-odd years ago,’ reveals Carr. ‘Thank God for wigs, make-up and artistic licence!’