Owen Tooth: Words of Wisdom for Disabled Creatives Breaking Into the TV Industry.

What inspired you to become a director?

I have worlds in my head that I’m desperate to share! I love art but I have no talent with a paint brush or pen, and I’m incredibly visual so when I discovered that I could tell stories and create the exact images I had in my head by using a camera, I was hooked. 

Film is one big collaboration, and I adore that side of it: the creation of art by a group of people all working toward the same goal, is incredible fun for me. And I love the puzzle of it all: every time I start feeling confident about one area (working with actors, editing, camera moves, sound design, inspiring a team, production design…), I realise that there’s another area I need to explore - and the industry develops so fast there’s always something new in the craft to learn. For me, it’s exciting and addictive.

Do you think you're treated differently, being disabled and in the entertainment industry? 

Oh, absolutely. 

I spent a long time trying to hide my disability and the day my physical problems got to the point that I had to use a wheelchair, overnight I lost literally every single client I’d made over a 15-year career bar one. I went from living well, to living in poverty for a number of years, and fighting to get the lowest-paying jobs out there. It made me question if I wanted to give my energy to an industry which could treat people like that. 

I feel like I have an unfair advantage over other disabled people in the industry now, simply because I’ve seen the other side of the curtain. I've directed a feature film and shorts as an able-bodied director, and proven to myself that I have the talent to do it. I had the chance to earn a living and develop my skills, so that when my disability became visible with my wheelchair, although suddenly nobody else thought I could possibly direct, I already knew I could do it.

If so, what would you change? 

The people with the power to hire and commission. I don’t mean we need to change who’s in power, but we desperately need to enlighten those who are, so that change is possible for all of us. People hiring, people arranging sets and dealing with crew, people commissioning shows, could almost all do so much more without putting a strain on their resources. I believe they’d make drastic changes if they were aware. 

Tell us about working on EastEnders, and being the first disabled director.

Directing EastEnders was so much fun! 

Working on so much material so quickly really pushed me as a director. I found out that however stressed I felt on the way in to shoot, the moment I got on set I’d be smiling. 

It’s a surreal feeling to shoot on locations which I’ve seen on TV my whole life, and getting to work and make friends with actors who I see on magazine covers on my lunch break: millions of people watch it every night and it’s incredibly exciting to be a part of that.

The EastEnders team were simply amazing. They made it so easy for me to go in and get working; the cast and crew are used to disability and neurodivergence on both sides of the camera, so they asked if I needed any adjustments and from that point on, I just got on with my job. It’s exactly how it should be, and it’s rare. 

Soaps often lead the industry: BAFTA Albert, a scheme to significantly reduce the environmental impact of film and TV productions, is named after Albert Square because of the part EastEnders played in developing it, and they’ve left the rest of TV behind in the strides they’ve made in diverse casting and crewing. 

To them, the most important thing was knowing that I had the skills and confidence required to direct a soap, because it’s unfair on the team and the director to put someone in that position if they’re not ready for the responsibility. Once I could prove I was ready, they were brilliant about letting me join the family.

I’m the first wheelchair user to direct EastEnders in 40 years, and to me that says that the industry is changing at last. On almost every shoot or potential shoot, I face barriers of perception, and EastEnders is helping prove what’s possible.

What have you sector have you been nominated for a BAFTA? 

It’s not a nomination for a BAFTA, it’s BAFTA Breakthrough which is more like a list of 20 people who are rising stars:  https://www.bafta.org/people/owen-tooth/ it’s awarded to people in their breakthrough moment who have made a change to the industry: https://www.bafta.org/stories/breakthrough-uk-2025/

What can people do to create more access needs on set? 

I think every production should read about the “5 A’s” from the TV Access Project, which makes inclusion so incredibly simple! https://creativediversitynetwork.com/diversity-in-practice/tv-access-project/divesity-in-practice-tv-access-project-tv-access-project-the-5as/ 

Having this project launch has been amazing. In a couple of years, I’ve gone from having producers concerned they wouldn’t be able to get insurance to cover a disabled director (not true, by the way), to now meeting producers who know more about my needs than I do myself! 

Who's your Inspiration?

There’s a few! I have to mention Jack Thorne. He’s working at the highest levels of TV and film, and yet he’s consistently pushing anything based on his work, to keep access at the heart of the production, and he talks and campaigns widely for change. I hope I’ll always use my position to champion change like he does. 

The teams behind DDPTV and TripleC DANC have been a huge influence on me these past few years, they’re working so hard for change and they’re creating a wonderful community at the same time. There are some generous, talented and kind people in both groups working overtime for all of us. When I started trying to get into the industry, I felt like I was fighting every battle alone, and it doesn’t feel that way anymore.

What would you say to other people with disabilities trying to make it?

Make sure you have a stable way of earning a living while you’re trying to get established! It can take years to start earning regularly, and there can be sudden slumps where swathes of freelancers find themselves out of work for long periods. It takes years to gain the skills you need to do the work, and to learn how the industry itself works, so don’t treat it like a race.

Specifically for disabled people: don’t let your disability define you.

As a disabled person, you will face barriers, you will miss out on jobs, you will be underestimated, and you will probably progress slower in your career than other people. 

But you can also strangely end up feeling like the best thing you have to offer is your disability - I know that’s something I’ve faced. You can feel like a token disabled person, or find yourself hired only for projects with a focus on disability. Please realise that you have more value than that. (I love projects focused on disability, it’s just far too common for production companies to only hire disabled people when making disability-focused shows, when they should be doing that on all their content!). 

Never lose sight of the fact that you have to be brilliant at your job: keep your focus on constantly improving your craft, and let your showreel or CV speak for itself: if I’m not on set, I’m working on my skills as a director, because I know how intense the competition is and because I enjoy getting better at what I do. 

I’d recommend finding a community you can be a positive part of. It might be a local filmmaking group, it could be a WhatsApp group. Film is one massive collaborative art, so you’ll need a network, and one of the most rewarding things about working in the industry is seeing people who deserve success doing well, and being able to congratulate them. 

Lastly, please do whatever you can to make the industry more accessible. It’s happening, but for now we all need to play our part!