Soap Saga Shines a Spotlight on Spinal Cord Injuries

National charity Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) has praised the iconic ITV soap saga Coronation Street for depicting one of the characters sustaining a spinal cord injury.

On the show Tyrone, played by Alan Halsall, was left with a spinal cord injury that threatened to leave him paralysed from the waist down following a hit and run car accident.

Carol Adcock, a specialist nurse from SIA, has been providing insight from a clinical perspective, informing the writers from the moment of Tyrone’s diagnosis to a more recent episode in which the character is almost able to walk again.

“Spinal cord injuries affect thousands of people in the UK alone,” explained Carol.

“It is indiscriminate and can happen to anyone. Disabled people were historically often portrayed in the media as inspirational heroes or victims.

“Not everyone is aware of how spinal cord injury can impact a person physically, psychologically, and in their relationships and everyday life. As one of the UK’s longest-running and most-watched soaps, Coronation Street has a unique platform to influence public attitudes and policy conversations.”

While those with complete spinal cord injuries will become full-time wheelchair users, Tyrone’s storyline represents those who often fall off the radar. People who go on to walk again with no visible signs of their disability often report feeling ‘not disabled enough’ to receive support and understanding from friends, family, healthcare professionals, or the wider public.

“Just because someone recovers motor function in their legs does not mean that they have full recovery of the nerves that control their bladder, bowel and sexual functioning,” explained Carol.

“This group of individuals may look like they are not disabled but still experience urinary and faecal incontinence as well as sexual dysfunction. Topics that society often shies away from talking about. This is often described as having a hidden disability.”

As well as portraying the impact on Tyrone, the writers of Coronation Street were keen to show the effects on his family, particularly his wife Fiz, played by Jenny McAlpine. As part of their efforts to be as accurate as possible, Alan and Jenny met Manchester arena bomb survivor and the SIA’s vice president, Martin Hibbert, along with his wife Gabby, who were able to give their perspective as a married couple.

“We might be telling this story on screen but at the end of the day we go home to our family and friends and leave behind what the characters are going through,” said Alan.

“Even just trying to negotiate getting around the set in the wheelchair has been a real eyeopener for me, so to hear Martin’s own stories about how his life has changed has been really helpful and also humbling.”

Photo from left to right: Manchester Arena bomb survivor Martin Hibbert and his wife Gabby with actors Alan Halsall and Jemmy McAlpine on the Coronation Street set. Pic Credit: Spinal Injuries Association.