OHMYGOSSIP — Cherylee Houston’s real-life partner is to join ‘Coronation Street’ as part of her latest storyline.
The 46-year-old actress has been shielding since March 2020 due to a rare connective tissue disorder – which makes her vulnerable to the effects of coronavirus – and she is to shoot scenes for the soap in the couple’s own home, alongside her significant other Toby Hadoke.
Toby will play a neighbour of Cherylee’s character, factory worker Izzy Armstrong, who has been granted permission to work from home in a plot to highlight the plight faced by millions of disabled people amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Cherylee – who was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome when she was 23 – said: “I have been unbelievably fortunate that my employers enabled me to continue shielding after the official shielding guidance ended in March.
“I’ve been so supported by ITV, but I’m aware that many of my disabled peers who were previously shielding haven’t had that safety and have been forced to make the decision to earn money to survive whilst facing the real fear of death or serious illness through COVID.
“There’s 14.1 million people in the UK, that’s one in five of us. We are employees, carers, front line workers, volunteers and a key part of every community.
“The pandemic has had an incredible impact on many disabled people due to social isolation, certain services being unavailable and a lack of understanding.
“There’s currently 4.4 million disabled workers in the UK. We experience almost double the unemployment statistics compared to our non-disabled peers (mostly due to prejudice or lack of reasonable adjustments).”
Fergus is forced to step in when Underworld boss Carla Connor (Alison King) is left increasingly frustrated by the quality of Izzy’s work she is producing from home.
Carla’s colleague Sarah Barlow (Tina O’Brien) video calls Izzy to inform her of the concerns, but Fergus insists his neighbour needs to put her health first.
‘Coronation Street’ producer Iain MacLeod added: “We had to think outside the box in order to tell this story, devising new protocols and ways of scripting scenes that would allow Cherylee to film the scenes herself in her home.
“It certainly helped that her partner Toby is a fabulous actor!
“Despite all the technical challenges we had to overcome, this was a story that needed telling and I hope it will resonate with millions of people who have found themselves in a similar position to Izzy – and perhaps open the eyes of millions of others who had little awareness of the issues facing disabled people during COVID.”
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