One Bubbly Soap Star

Channel 4’s teen soap Hollyoaks welcomes the latest addition to its roster of characters. Kelly-MarieStewart is blonde, bubbly and beautiful. And, as she tells Cathy Reay, she’s about to make the most of her break to sell disability into the mainstream

Kelly-Marie Stewart has got plenty to say, she’s got the world at her feet, only she can’t move her legs.

“I don’t think it’s wrong to be curious about why I’m in a wheelchair,” says the 24-year-old Liverpudlian actress. Speaking in between shooting scenes for her new role,Kelly-Marie, who has Guillain-Barré syndrome, says she is excited to be one of the only actresses with a visible impairment currently playing a prominent role on a popular soap.

“There are so many conditions that people aren’t aware of and have never heard of. This is a good way of raising awareness of disability generally. People still seem to see a wheelchair as a problem [when trying to work in acting] but, in this day and age, it’s not.”

At least, that’s her story: “I’ve been in a chair for two-and-a-half years and have never been turned down for something because of it,” she explains while getting into her character.

Kelly-Marie’s rare condition, which affects around 1,500 people a year in the UK, is marked by degenerative paralysis of the legs, arms and, in some cases, chest. “I am stabilised from the waist down, which is very fortunate,” she says.

“Initially I couldn’t bear any weight on my legs but over time I’ve become a lot stronger. I’ve gone through two-and-a-half years of intensive therapy so that my legs can hold me up, but I have no movement.”

When Kelly-Marie came out of hospital two-and-a-half years ago, she was forced to face the prospect of spending the rest of her life in a wheelchair. Going through that change, she says, has meant that she and the people she surrounds herself with had to learn a lot very quickly.

After attending theatrical academies Elliott Clarke and Liverpool Theatre School in her teenage years, Kelly-Marie enjoyed modelling for several accessible designers including WheelieChix-Chic at London Fashion Week. She’s also appeared in television adverts alongside footballer Darren
Campbell for Sky and another for the charity Liveability.

When she read about the auditions for established character Zak Ramsey’s little sister Hayley, Kelly-Mariejumped at the opportunity.

“The castings and callbacks went on for quite a long time. Normally characters aren’t cast so far in advance but it just so happened that Hayley was, so by the time they had chosen me most of her storylines hadn’t yet been written,” she explains.

It handily meant that the soap’s writers could easily write Kelly-Marie’s condition into her role.

“They weren’t looking for someone with an impairment when the role was cast so I think it’s important to address the reason behind Hayley being in a wheelchair,” says Kelly-Marie.

“If someone comes into a TV programme in a wheelchair, it’s natural for people to want to know why. It’s exactly the same as if someone walked onto the EastEnders set with a black eye; people want to ask how they got it.”

As Kelly-Marie is introduced into the fold, her onscreen brother Zak has difficulties coming to terms with his sister’s condition. But, Kelly-Marie is confident that it will soon be forgotten.

“Hayley is going to fall into things quite normally; she’ll become part of the furniture. She actually ends up with a love interest. It just had to be addressed initially in the same way as any other new character’s background would be.”

When she arrived on the Hollyoaks set, in what was to be her first experience of continual television acting,Kelly-Marie says she was nervous of how her colleagues would deal with her condition.

“It was a worry for me, how everyone would adapt, but the cast and crew have been brilliant.

Obviously it’s a new learning curve to have a wheelchair permanently on set, but everyone has adapted really well.”

Although at the time of writing she’s only been filming for a few weeks, Kelly-Marie has already palled up behind the scenes with her co-stars. “Everyone is so welcoming; being on set is a great laugh. I’m making friends all the time, particularly with Kent who plays my brother Zak.”

As she settles into the soap, Kelly-Marie’s happy-go-lucky character is set to develop several relationships with other cast members. “My contract was initially signed for the standard six months, but my storylines at the moment go beyond that,” says Kelly-Mariehappily.

But she’s certainly not getting a big head about it all; she dismisses our suggestion of dreaming about starring in a film alongside Johnny Depp with a loud laugh, explaining: “For now I just want to concentrate on what I’m doing. Obviously it’s in my interest to make sure this goes okay and that it’s a success.”

Kelly-Marie also hopes that, through her new line of work, she is able to break the mould and show other people with impairments that they can follow their dreams. “If it’s within reason to make adaptations, anyone should be allowed to do whatever they want to.

“Sure, I’ve been on aeroplanes and I realise that maybe someone like me couldn’t be a stewardess, but if you want to act or do something like work in the police, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to.”

Because her particular condition has deteriorated, Kelly-Marie wasn’t always in a wheelchair, and going through that change, she says, has meant that she and the people she surrounds herself with had to learn a lot very quickly.

“Before I was in a chair, I never really spent anytime with anyone that was disabled in the same way.

My family and friends, from spending time around me, have learnt a lot, so if people see me on screen hopefully the character can raise awareness and make people think about things like that.”

Her innocent, bubbly personality, sweet childlike voice and stunning looks are all attributes of a star in the making. The fact that she’s in a wheelchair clearly doesn’t affect Kelly-Marie’s perception of her capabilities (“I’ve always been a determined girl”) and she’s excited to see what the public will make of her new role.

“If this could influence people in any way, well that’s a really good thing. At the end of the day, it can only be positive, can’t it?”

Well, we certainly think so.

Kelly-Marie’s character Hayley Ramsey first appeared in Hollyoaks at the end of last month.