Images of Disability on Television

Based on detailed analysis of programme content in the UK and USA, this study examines the way in which disabilities are portrayed on British and American television. The research examines the frequency with which people with disabilities appear on television, in what programme genres and how they are presented. By interviewing TV writers and producers, holding discussions with various key groups - disabled peoples, their families and carers for the disabled - and conducting a small survey among the public (with the assistance of the BBC), enquiries are made into the attitudes held by various groups to the portrayal of people with disabilities.