Disability inclusion in Hetty Feather Interview with Hugo Cracknell

Having started acting around the age of six British actor Hugo Cracknell, began his professional career after gaining the role of Edwin in CBBC’S children’s drama show Hetty Feather. Which he has starred in since the shows fourth series. 

Having been a massive fan of the Hetty Feather books I was kind of disappointed that the series was not going to go in the same direction as the books. 

As I thought about the logistics, I realized that for the show to continue it needed to be set in one place rather than spread out all over the country like Hetty’s book adventures had been.

I also realized that there was a lot of potential for new characters if it was set in a posh house with a family & a whole new set of servants. 

 I’m not sure what I was really expecting from the Calendar family, but I definitely was not expecting a disabled character. 

I think if anything my thoughts were mostly on how I presumed they would be portrayed as posh stuck up wealthy Victorians to my utter delight they turned out to be, for the most part very well rounded & very enjoyable to watch. 

This show gave to me what at the time I felt I didn’t have, a disabled character that I could relate to. That may sound a tad extreme considering Edwin has been made up & is a Victorian but some of his scenes over the years have really made me think about my own life. 

There’s one scene in particular that has really stuck out to me. I’m not sure what episode, what series or even the exact quote. But it is but it’s a scene in which Jack is helping Edwin fix MR. Calendar’s old pocket watch. Edwin is struggling & begins to talk about how useless he feels as he cannot do move around as easily as others. There is another more recent one where he feels he cannot ride a horse as he cannot walk, yet he manages to face his own fears & realises that he can actually ride & is quite good at it. 

Although we get these glimpses into how Edwin feels about his life, his scenes are not all based around his disability, most of Edwin's scenes are based around his interests & show him being a normal victorian teenager. As well as having fun with his friends who always include him no matter how difficult it may be to find a way to make it possible for him to be involved or how big of a challenge they are facing. 

There a few scenes with Lady.Greenford where she talks about how Edwin should be shut away from society because the family needs to keep up a good name. She then proceeds to lock him away in the library with all the curtains drawn so no sunlight can escape into the room. 

Our modern world may be better at dealing with disability but things like this still happen within our society most of a less extreme nature but there is still ableism around & I still feel we have much to learn. 

I also loved how Emily wants to become a doctor as this would most likely be a result of growing up with Edwin & wanting to ensure future generations get better care than what he has witnessed her brother received. It also teaches children about the struggles faced by women within the Victorian community who wanted to better themselves with education then going on to have a respectable career. 

Hugo was nice enough to let me ask him some questions about his time during Hetty Feather which is sadly coming to an end with Feather few Christmas episodes airing before the final series airs early next year. 

I really enjoy it so hopefully for many more years to come!

1•What piece of advice would you give a disabled person who wants to go into the entertainment industry? 

- Just seize every opportunity that comes your way, get involved with various theatre groups and school plays etc, go into it with an open mind and don’t have too many expectations and enjoy it!

2• What if anything do you think production companies could do to help make the industry more accessible for someone with a disability? 

- that’s a very tricky question, but I’m quite fortunate in that I’ve never really had a bad experience within the industry. I think that as time has gone on disabilities and other forms of diversity have become a lot more represented 

3•How important do you think it is for disabled people, especially children, to be able to see themselves being represented well on television?

- I think it great we see more people with disabilities on tv, as I don't think it should be something to be ashamed of, and hopefully, it can provide some inspiration to kids with disabilities

4•One of the things I love about Edwin's character is that everyone seems happy to push him around & involve him even on the most dangerous of missions, but how different do you think Edwin's character would be if he was from a poorer Victorian family? 

-Yeah it’s always fun working with everyone, but I definitely think that his life would be ten times more difficult if he was poor especially back then but he’s a very positive character so I don’t think that would change 

5: Have you learnt anything from playing Edwin that that helped you in your everyday life? 

- It's definitely opened my eyes to how much harder life was back then as opposed to now, also the wheelchair I use is so heavy, so I don’t know how anyone would cope. 

6: How has playing a disabled character in a Victorian setting been different from previous roles set in the present day?

 It’s a lot of fun as I said the wheelchairs are a lot heavier and very different also the costumes are really cool as well

Hugo told me he really enjoys acting and hopes to do it for many years to come, I cannot wait to see what he does next. I hope you all enjoyed hearing my thoughts as well as Hugo's on disability throughout Hetty Feather & a massive thank you to Hugo who allowed me to ask him questions about his time on the show & his thoughts on disability inclusion thought-out television.