11 – 16 April is Parkinson’s Awareness Week and with this in mind we have chosen Paul Mayhew-Archer as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Following a brief career in teaching, during which he organised a school trip and got left behind, Paul Mayhew-Archer has spent the last 40 years trying to make people laugh. 

He is a multi-award-winning writer whose credits include ‘The Vicar of Dibley’, “Mrs Brown’s Boys” and the screen version of “Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot” starring Judi Dench and Dustin Hoffman. He also produced the much loved Radio 4 shows ‘I’m Sorry I haven’t A Clue’ and ‘Old Harry’s Game’, and as a script editor he has worked on everything from ‘Spitting Image’ to ‘Miranda’.  

In 2011 he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, an incurable illness that gets progressively worse and has over 50 symptoms. It is also – as Paul quickly found out – funny.   

Since then he’s had some of the best times of his life.   

In 2016 he made his first documentary, “Parkinson’s: The funny Side”, for which he won the Grierson Award for Best Documentary Presenter.

In 2018 he took part in his first podcast, sitting next to The Archbishop of Canterbury and performed his first ever One Man show, “Incurable Optimist”, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

He now promotes the therapeutic power of laughter as a stand-up comedian, and is an active member of the Parkinson’s UK Oxford Branch.
To find out more about Parkinson’s Awareness Week see here https://parkinsonscare.org.uk/awarenessweek/

To find out more about Paul see here http://mayhew-archer.com/

On 3 March it is World Hearing Day and with that in mind we have chosen Chris Fonseca as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Chris is a professional dancer, choreographer, teacher and deaf ambassador. He specialises in Urban dance technique and works extensively across the UK and overseas – receiving both international invitations and commissions.

Chris drew early inspiration from the actor Michael ‘Boogaloo Shrimp’ Chambers and Old Skool dance techniques such as Electric Boogaloo, Popping, locking and B-Boying. Whilst attaining his degree in Graphic Communication, Chris was a founding member of Def Motion, an all-deaf dance group affiliated to Deaffest – the UK’s annual Deaf Film Festival.

Since then Chris has been involved in a variety of endeavours. In 2012, Chris appeared in the London Paralympics opening ceremony showcasing his talents as an accomplished dance artist and creator.

Other achievements have included – The Black Collective: Black History Month, Smirnoff’s Keep it Moving campaign, LinkedIn’s Chase the Great campaign, SKY1’s what’s up TV, BBC’s the One Show, BBC Three’s Amazing Human JBL: Sound to See campaign, BBC’s The Greatest Dancer, Blue Peter and touring the UK with the Wind in The Willows musical.

To find out more about Chris see here

https://www.chrisfonsecadancer.com/home

To find out more about World Hearing Day see herehttps://www.who.int/campaigns/world-hearing-day/2022

On 3 December it is International Day of People with Disabilities and with that in mind we have chosen Cerrie Burnell as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Cerrie is an author, actor and activist, best known for work on CBeebies, a role which has earned her critical recognition and a devoted fan base. She has broken down barriers, challenged stereotypes and overcome discrimination to become one of the most visible disabled presenters on kids’ TV. Alongside this Cerrie has worked closely with a number of charitable organisations linked to childhood and diversity, which she is passionate about.

She trained at Manchester Metropolitan School of Acting, her credits prior to CBeebies include Grange Hill where she played the role of Miss Green, Eastenders, The Bill, Comedy Lab, Holby City and many plays including Winged: a fairytale which she wrote and starred in.

Cerrie is also the author of 12 children’s books including Snowflakes, which she adapted for the stage with Oxford Playhouse in 2016 and the Harper series, which was a world book day title in 2016.

Her one woman show the Magical Playroom premiered at the Edinburgh fringe in 2013 and she has been listed by The Observer as one of the top 10 children’s presenters of all time.

She is a patron of Polka Theatre, London and The Story Museum in Oxford. She has been an author in residence at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and BookTrust.

In 2017, Cerrie was awarded an honorary degree for services to Media from The Open University and she became the BBC’s first ambassador for disability in June 2021.

Also in 2021 Cerrie came third in The Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 list.

To find out more about International Day of People with Disabilities see here https://idpwd.org/