Pushers star Rosie Jones has criticised television shows with only one disabled character, telling press that simply isn't an accurate or adequate reflection of the British population today.
The stand-up comedian is taking on her first major acting role in the Channel 4 sitcom, which follows a woman with cerebral palsy who is driven to drug dealing when her disability payments are suddenly cut.
Emily (Jones) is approached by a school acquaintance, played by Say Nothing alum Ryan McParland, who considers the way she is consistently overlooked and underestimated to be an asset to his fledgling criminal enterprise.
Jones told press that she is "passionate" about using her platform for "bringing up" other creatives who are living with disabilities, with Jon Furlong (All Creatures Great and Small), Rhiannon Clements (Daddy Issues) and Ruben Reuter (The Dumping Ground) co-starring in the Pushers cast.
On how the approach to Pushers starkly contrasts against that of many other programmes, Jones explained: "I have watched too many TV shows that have one disabled person.
"You can tell that the writer/creator has gone: 'Ooh! We’ll write one disabled character, we'll give all the disabled stories to them [and] their personality will be 'disabled' – well done, move on!'"
Jones continued: "That is not the world we live in: 24 per cent of the UK is disabled [according to the Department for Work and Pensions]. We live among disabled people everywhere.
"So, in terms of characters, we both [Jones and Pushers co-creator Peter Fellows] got really excited about writing a series with a predominantly disabled cast – once you have three, four or five characters with a disability, they're no longer 'the disabled one'."
While Jones is proud of the opportunities that Pushers has provided, she is also keen for the show's cast and characters to be seen for the fully developed personalities that they are, as opposed to audience focus being on their disabilities.
She concluded: "I really hope that you watch 10 or 20 seconds of the show, and forget that any of them are disabled, because it's not about that. It's about how complicated, how three-dimensional they are as people."
In addition to screen roles, Pushers also provided work to disabled people behind the camera, which Jones said helped "to create a full, rich work environment".
Pushers premieres on Channel 4 at 10pm on Thursday 19th June 2025.
Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Rosie Jones criticises TV shows with only one disabled character )
Also on site :
- Oil prices up after reports of 3 ships on fire in Gulf of Oman near the strait of Hormuz
- NYT Mini Crossword Answers, Hints for Tuesday, June 17, 2025
- NYT ‘Connections’ Hints and Answers Today, Tuesday, June 17