Hollyoaks casts first autistic actress on mainstream British TV

Actress Talia Grant has become the first person diagnosed with autism to be cast in a British TV drama after landing a role in Hollyoaks.

Grant will play autistic teen Brooke Hathaway, the new foster daughter of the Osbornes, in the popular Channel 4 soap. The new character makes her debut in June and will study at Hollyoaks High alongside the other local teenagers, the London Evening Standard reports.

Grant, the daughter of Pop Idol and Fame Academy voice coaches David and Carrie Grant, said she is looking forward to representing “autistic women of colour” on TV. She added: “I am so excited to be joining Hollyoaks. I have met some of the cast and being on set was fun and everyone was super-nice and made me feel welcome.

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“For a long while there has been no representation on screen of autistic women, especially autistic women of colour, so I am really looking forward to developing the character of Brooke and representing something that perhaps people are unaware of.”

Welcoming her to the show, executive producer Bryan Kirkwood said: “We are delighted that the search for Brooke uncovered brilliant new talent Talia, whose auditions were joyful.

“She will bring a new different voice into the show and we are very excited about her arrival into the Osbornes where she will bring a secret from the past.”

Hollyoaks worked with The National Autistic Society and London-based theatre company Access All Areas to help with the auditioning and casting process, the Radio Times reports.

Kirkwood explained: “The best way to describe Brooke’s autism is to say that she experiences the world a hundred times more intensely than other people. Every light shines brighter, every smell is stronger – and every word she takes to heart that little bit more.”

Jane Harris, of the National Autistic Society, said it was “really encouraging” to see more TV script writers representing autistic characters in their work. “Hollyoaks will help more of the public understand the challenges that autistic people face in their everyday lives,” she added.