Deaf Funny writer Charlie Swinbourne on the inspiration for his 'very Yorkshire' TV show and winning an Royal Television Society award

Growing up in a household with deaf parents and brothers, Charlie Swinbourne learned to lip-read and sign before he started at a mainstream school. It was these early experiences as someone who is partially-deaf himself that first made him see how different the deaf and hearing worlds can be.

Now an award-winning writer, he draws on what he has learned over the years to inspire his work including a special episode of the BBC drama Casualty about a day in the life of a deaf nurse that saw him honoured with BAFTA and Royal Television Society awards.

Charlie, 41, said: “When you are in the hearing world, there is a lack of awareness because it is an invisible disability. When I was growing up, people would be quite rude to my mum because she is profoundly deaf and she just can’t hear them. You have to be aware of people who are less tolerant.”

Going to a hearing school also had its difficult moments, said Charlie. At times, he was unable to hear teachers and had to find ways to work around this on his own. He said: “Deafness is a challenge, but it is up to society to work with deaf people to make adaptions, adapt their attitudes, and to learn better communication skills so deaf people can be involved in everything they would like to be.”

Shortly after graduating from Nottingham Trent University, Charlie worked for free for a number publications while staying on his friends sofas in London. Stories that he believed to be important to the deaf community were often turned down to his disappointment. It was then he launched his own blog, The Limping Chicken.

The hope in 2012 was that it would create an online community, including those hearing who have deaf children or interpreters, would might want to contribute. More than a decade later, Limping Chicken has achieved just that.

Its distinctive name came from a BBC documentary about a deaf teenager whose notetaker left her halfway through a lecture because her chicken had a poorly leg. It was a moment that caused much chatter among the deaf community, with Charlie recalling: “People related to it. They have had that experience where access can just disappear. You can be in the cinema watching a movie and the subtitles disappear, or your interpreter doesn’t arrive at your doctor's appointment and you need something looked at. What do you do? Do you wait two more weeks for another appointment?”

Charlie’s interest in a potential career in filmmaking had begun during his A-Levels when he would make films with his family’s camcorder. His first job working on a deaf TV programme gave further confirmation, leaving Charlie thinking that he could write his own script. He said: “It introduced me to a generation of really talented people, directors, producers and I went on to work with a lot of these people. I was very lucky to get this first job.”

Deaf Funny, a project which Charlie describes as a “very Yorkshire production”, was directed and written by him alone. In 2018, Charlie won his first Royal Television Society (RTS) Writer Award for the project. “It’s not something I thought was possible,” he said. “Deaf Funny was always something I wanted to do. I grew up watching skit shows and always thought I would love to make a deaf one – with all the things that annoy deaf people. To have it be such a dream, then a reality and then to win an RTS for it – I was just so proud. That galvanised me to make another four episodes of the show.

"When I was growing up in the deaf community, I didn’t know people doing the work I am doing now. I’d have been blown away to have imagined doing the things I have done. I feel very privileged and lucky to have reached this position, to have achieved the recognition and awards I have.

“The most important thing for me has been to represent my community in a responsible way and in a positive way. There are so many talented deaf actors who are really under the radar, Matt Kirby among them, and I want them to get the same recognition I have.”

Charlie moved to Leeds 10 years ago and lives in Ilkley with his wife and two children. Currently in talks with production companies, he hopes to continue putting deaf characters at the heart of his work and create a mainstream show featuring deaf actors.