Ask someone to think of a TV character who’s been paralysed by a spinal cord injury and the chances are you’ll get either Detective Ironside or Brian Potter from Phoenix Nights as your answer. It’s a fairly safe bet because there’s not exactly a huge choice. So whilst we’re not all huge soap fans at Aspire, we were impressed when Emmerdale took what must have been the difficult decision to run a storyline involving give one of their characters, Jackson, a spinal injury. 

The producers of Emmerdale contacted Aspire, and other charities, before the story line broke, even including our posters on the hospital set. And whilst the stay in hospital and move home wasn’t exactly true to reality, we accepted artistic licence and looked forward to seeing how the character would develop and the issues they were going to tackle. 

So this week it’s been hugely disappointing to see the press suggest that the character will soon commit assisted suicide. Whilst accepting that soaps have no obligation to showcase the issues that Aspire think should be brought to the public’s attention, this is still a massive missed opportunity. For Simon, an Aspire volunteer in Cardiff with a similar level of paralysis to Jackson, the writers have made a mistake: 

“I was injured in 1997. Since then I’ve done countless Open University courses, completed my degree and masters, taught loads of patients how to use computers and assistive technology and am about to graduate with a PGCE. I’m looking forward to getting a job working at an adult education centre and teaching IT. Maybe people are surprised that I’ve done all that, but I feel the Emmerdale story is a bit of a cheap way out when they could have challenged the opinion that spinal injury means you can’t take the opportunities that will still come your way.” 

Alex Rankin, Aspire’s Head of Services, believes it’s not too late to see the storyline take a different path: 

“There’s a dangerous perception that sustaining a spinal cord injury signals the end of your life; at Aspire we’ve been working against it for years. Emmerdale had a rare opportunity to really challenge this misguided opinion but instead the writers seem to have aligned themselves with a lazy stereotype. I sincerely hope that they have a change of heart, acknowledge the psychological impact of a major trauma, and then go on to see Jackson take on the exciting challenge of a life full of opportunities. Ultimately, with the right support, that is the reality of a spinal cord injury.” 

Andy Walker, an Aspire IT volunteer, will be appearing in five episodes of Emmerdale (starting tonight, Friday 25th February) as Steve Kelly who meets Jackson and tries to show him that life is worth living.  Steve is the complete opposite of Jackson who is struggling to come to terms with his injury and Andy hopes that his role will inspire disabled people and raise the profile of independent living.  

Andy was dubious about taking the part, particularly worrying how the storyline would be received by people with spinal injuries, but felt it was important to promote the fact "that you can live exactly the same life as you had before."  Andy believes that "whether you have a disability or not, you can fight for your independence." 

Let’s hope the writers take inspiration from Andy’s positive approach to life.