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| TX: 16.02.07 - Miss Ability PRESENTERS: PETER WHITE AND WINIFRED ROBINSON |
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| THE ATTACHED TRANSCRIPT WAS TYPED FROM A RECORDING AND NOT COPIED FROM AN ORIGINAL SCRIPT. BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF MISHEARING AND THE DIFFICULTY IN SOME CASES OF IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUAL SPEAKERS, THE BBC CANNOT VOUCH FOR ITS COMPLETE ACCURACY. WHITE Now the Dutch are nothing if not innovative. The latest televisual feast to come out of the spiritual home of Big Brother is a show called Miss Ability - that's Miss Ability - where 12 female contestants, each with a visual disability [Gap on listen again] .... the rights to produce the show here have been bought by DLT Entertainment and their director, Don Taffner Jr, is in the process of pitching it to the major channels as we speak. Liz Carr is a disabled comedian, actor and activist and she's rather concerned at the prospect of seeing the show on TV here. CLIP May 31st 2006. On this day Dutch television had the worldwide premier of the live broadcast of Miss Election for young disabled women. TAFFNER Miss Ability is a competition programme where we're going to be selecting an ambassador for disabled rights in the UK. We have 10 or so disabled people in competition, based upon their life, their success, their looks - to a degree - and that person will be selected by the viewers at home. CLIP Almost two million viewers witnessed how 12 gorgeous and intelligent ladies challenged each other and themselves to become the world's first Miss Ability during this fabulous event. CARR How do you see it running in the UK? TAFFNER The way it was done in Holland, it basically was a beauty pageant for disabled people. It was a two-hour event. We're also looking at making it a series of half hours or hour's leading up maybe to an hour event where you're looking through video packages of what that person's life is and what they actually have accomplished. And I think that's what we're looking to look at more, rather than just bathing suits, I mean there will be no bathing suits in the version that we do. CARR So what if an ugly disabled person with a fantastic life - could they win, do you think? TAFFNER I would think that's a possibility. CARR No you don't come on, I'm in the studio looking at you, you don't believe that, you had to gulp back twice. But you don't really think that's going to happen do you? TAFFNER Oh you know it could, it all depends, it depends what their life is and what they've overcome to a degree and how successful they've been. Looks do play a part in it, it's not meant to be just a straight educational show, there is supposed to be some entertainment value and I think that's an important element because that will bring in a few more viewers to watch it, than it would be if it was just a straight documentary, which is something that we really don't want to do anyway, we're an entertainment based company. CARR Do you not think though that at the end of the day this is just going to be a freak show and that's really why you're backing it and why you're trying to sell it because you know it's going to make money? TAFFNER Yeah we wouldn't be doing it if we didn't think we could make money on it, that's for sure, won't make a ton of money but we will money on it otherwise there's no reason to produce it. I did view it as something that was - if it was done properly could be a bit more of an empowering show but it depends on how you actually pull it off. I think, and I could be wrong, that if it's done properly could be a good show for television. CLIP For starters this is shown in a live television show, filled with outstanding beautiful and smart young women with a visible disability. The viewer laughs, cries and feels with all contestants in this ultimate mix of glamour and social awareness. CARR Who do you think this programme will appeal to, because I find that weird - imagining who's going to come home at night and go - oh you know that Miss Ability is on tonight, yeah that'll be great, let's go and look at a couple of amputees and a couple of wheelchair babes - you know, are they going to be doing that, you know do you think that's it? TAFFNER That is a very good question. I like to think it would appeal to general audiences, I mean I can see the impact of the bikinis coming through again with ... CARR Now, now, now. TAFFNER ... the description of the show and the UK won't be like that. I would not be surprised if some of the people watched it just for the ... CARR The gawkishness of it. TAFFNER ... of the show, but you know what in a way I don't mind that, if that's why they turn on because I'm hopeful when they watch it they realise they might have turned on for that but they actually might have learned something after having watched it. I think - also to do with the way the show probably was promoted over there but I think that would increase the gawkishness of the viewers for it. That's not something that we would be doing over here at all, we would try to be very, very serious in the approach to it. CLIP The mission statement of the Miss Ability election is to tear down the walls of the non acceptance of disabled people all over the world. CARR What really is your aim behind it? TAFFNER I don't know about changing attitudes, it would be great to think that I can accomplish that but I never would have that big an ego to think that I could ever change people's attitudes. I would like to think that we could open people's minds a bit more about it, at least to give some thought to it. It will be a tastefully done show, if and when it's produced. CLIP During the live 90 minute show tension rises as the jury has to decide after each round which ladies are left to be the most likely Miss Ability. A decision that's surely not an easy job. CARR You're going to get disabled people on the show and it's either they win because they're attractive or because their story is amazing and brings tears to the eyes or you're just like every one else. Either way I mean that doesn't reflect my life, it doesn't reflect a lot of disabled people's lives. When the only images that we see of disabled people are those on TV with programmes like that there is an expectation on the majority of us to be like that and little Jane sitting at school going but I could never be like her, or I don't even want to be. TAFFNER It's very difficult and we run into this problem all the time when you're producing television to produce something that's enjoyed by everybody. I mean we're trying to do the right thing, I mean we're not trying to do something that's exploitative at all, far from it. One of the things that we will be doing is once we go forward we want to bring on some disabled people onto the production staff to make sure that what we think is the right thing to do actually is the right thing. These are all interesting things that you have brought up right now that I'll be taking back. We will always be disappointing to some people, we'll never be able to please everybody but we do go in there trying to please as many people as we can. CLIP Participating in the national election of Miss Ability contributes to the needed and justified acceptance of people with a disability. The Netherlands have set this train in motion. A train that everybody abroad needs to jump on. CARR Well I won't say good luck with the show, my own morals would not allow me to do that. You were always going to put on the show and I was always going to go - you know what I'd rather not see it on our screens. And I haven't changed, I would like to see more disability on TV but the right stuff and I think you could achieve what you want to in a different way. TAFFNER What I look forward to is when we have it on and it is a success and coming back here again and then you can actually critique the show for me. CARR Oh I look forward - I do look forward to that. ROBINSON Liz Carr was talking to Don Taffner Jnr about his disability beauty pageant, the first series of which ran on Dutch television last year and the next series is due to start transmission in the late spring. Back to the You and Yours homepage The BBC is not responsible for external websites |
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