Coronation Street is to air a new storyline aimed at highlighting the plight of disabled workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
In episodes airing next week, Izzy (Cherylee Houston) will be seen struggling with the demands of working for Underworld from her home, where she is shielding.
Houston's real-life partner Toby Hadoke will appear in the scenes playing her neighbour Fergus, who is concerned for her welfare and takes factory boss Carla (Alison King) to task over her demands.
"I have been unbelievably fortunate that my employers enabled me to continue shielding after the official shielding guidance ended in March," said Houston, who has now been on Corrie for more than 11 years.
"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 1 in 5 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."
Corrie 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."
> Picture Spoilers: Next week on Coronation Street (July 5-9)
Neil Wilkes
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