Sex education star on living with lifelong condition and netflix success

You might recognise Keron Day from Sex Education and Kirkmoore, but his path to success has been anything but easy. Keron has shared his experience of living with a lifelong condition,

cerebral palsy. As 130,000 adults live with CP, this makes the largest group in the UK living with a physical lifelong disability, according to charity UP: The Adult Cerebral Palsy Movement.

Despite facing rejection from his school production due to his disability, he has landed a role in a hit Netflix series and continues to champion disability representation in the film and

TV Industry. The actor exclusively told The Express: “When I was at school, I wasn’t allowed in a school production because I, as a disabled person, ‘didn’t fit the context.’” Keron shed

light on a significant issue in the ongoing discussions about representation in media, revealing the need for more stories that reflect the experiences of disabled people. He expressed:

“Despite the push for diversity, disabled people can get missed out on that conversation.” Keron, who took part in the latest campaign for the disability charity, also pointed out the

misconceptions he faces because of his condition. “The most obvious and consistent misconception that I have to deal with is that my disability (Cerebral Palsy) somehow affects my cognitive

ability. “This is, of course, extraordinarily frustrating. Although, I can’t pretend that it is not highly amusing to see the comprehension dawn on their face, within a couple of minutes of

speaking to me, that they misjudged me and they realise that I am sufficiently intelligent to know that they made that misjudgment. Then they try and cover for their mistake—always

unsuccessfully.” He adds, “Being an actor, regardless of whether you are disabled or not, is a hard career. Add a disability on top, and it makes things even more challenging (importantly,

not because of my disability but because of attitudes around disabled people). How I manage this is by being as proactive as possible and continue to call for the change I would like to

see.” Speaking about his involvement in UP, he said: " I am really pleased to be involved with UP: The Adult Cerebral Palsy Movement. I think it is really important that more focus is

given to adults with CP and that the misconception that CP is purely a childhood disability is challenged vociferously." Keron, who starred in the final season of Sex Education,

stresses how important it is for disabled people to share their own stories. He says: “If we don’t tell our stories, people who aren’t disabled will. Historically, this has meant that

non-disabled people have won significant awards, such as Oscars, regardless of how damaging the storylines they tell are. I don’t think this is right, so it is incumbent upon us to write a

different narrative and tell our stories in the way we see most appropriate.” He added: “What I would stress to those with concerns about whether there would be an audience for stories with

disabled people is that 24% of the British population are disabled, and we represent the biggest minority group." "Thus, disability representation affects everybody,” he insists.

KERON IS PART UP MOVEMENT’S LATEST PHOTO STUNT WHICH AIMS TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE LACK OF SUPPORT PEOPLE WITH CP RECEIVE. TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE MOVEMENT VISIT HERE:

https://upmovement.org.uk/.