Corrie will to hold auditions in London, Glasgow and Manchester to find the right man to play new character Howie, who is described as a 'cheeky chappy'.
They are looking to audition actors with any form of “visible disability” for the role, aged in his 40s.
A Corrie spokeswoman said: “Howie is a new disabled character that is being written into storylines starting on screen in the Autumn. He will be connected to a current cast member, although that’s all we can say at this stage.”
The new character is believed to have been written in to storylines to increase diversity on the cobbles of Weatherfield, and to give opportunities to actors with disabilities.
The soap currently features storylines involving wheelchair-bound Izzy Armstrong, played by actress Cherylee Houston, who has rare tissue disorder Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. When she joined in 2010 she made history as the show’s first disabled actress.
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14 comments:
Sounds a good idea so long as he doesnt end up just annoying like the present disabled character, Izzy or pointless like some of the 'new' characters - Andrea for example.
Might be connected to Andrea and be her big secret.
Has Izzy only been in the soap since 2010. She's part of a family that's in every scene/ episode, feels though she's been around forever!
I agree Humpty, this might be related to Andrea's secret
So Andrea has a disabled relative that she is so ashamed of she has never mentioned it. BAH
I think it will be Andrea too, although why such a big mouth wouldnt have ever mentioned it to steve is beyond me. It's really nothing to be ashamed of unless she is still married.
Didn't Emily's deaf niece Freida count as a disabled person?
I would say so, but her character wasn't hired for a starring role on the street.
I imagine that while Freida was disabled her deafness would not class as "visable".
If Howie is Andrea's "secret" does this mean that the storyline is going to run until the autumn?
Here's a crazy idea. How about considering disabled actors for roles that they'd be brilliant in, regardless of whether the character was written as disabled or not? Y'know, treating them as people?
Wasn't Don Brennan a leading character and didn't he lose a leg? Seems to me he was the first with a visible physical disability.
Yes, Anonymous 17:33, wouldn't that be novel?! This all sounds very contrived and patronizing. We haven't got past the "all-purpose token" ("See. We've got one of those!") stage of our evolution yet. Sigh. I guess this is better than NOT having any "different " people. I hope I live long enough to see the day when we stop focussing on such superficialities.
They just introduced at disabled character on EE ... monkey see....
Could I suggest casting Mat Fraser a marvellously talented actor who just happens to be disabled.
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